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THE  LEATHER  GLOVE  INDUSTRY 
IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


BY 

DANIEL  W.  REDMOND,  Ph.B. 

Hamilton  College,  1901 


SUBMITTED   IN    PARTIAL   FULFILMENT   OF   THE    REQUIREMENTS 

FOR   THE    DEGREE    OF    DOCTOR   OF   PHILOSOPHY 

IN   THE 

FACULTY  OF  POLITICAL  SCIENCE 
COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 


NEW  YORK 
1913 


PREFACE 


SIMPLE  and  brief  as  the  accompanying  treatise  may 
seem,  the  work  of  collecting  the  requisite  information 
could  not  have  been  carried  on  without  the  aid  and 
cooperation  of  a  great  number  of  men  closely  connected 
with  the  Glove  Industry.  This  is  particularly  true 
because  the  material  is,  for  the  most  part,  first  hand  and 
could  therefore  be  obtained  only  in  the  field.  Space 
forbids  the  publication  of  a  complete  list  of  all  those  who 
have  assisted  in  this  work  but  the  writer  cannot  omit 
special  appreciation  of  the  interest  and  assistance  of  the 
late  Adolph  L.  Peck,  librarian  of  the  Gloversville  Free 
Library,  who  gave  freely  of  his  remarkable  store  of 
information  gathered  in  more  than  twenty-five  years  of 
a  busy  life  in  Gloversville. 

To  Mr.  James  VVarbasse,  Editor  of  the  Glovers'  Review 
and  Secretary  of  the  Manufacturers'  Association  particular 
thanks  must  be  tendered  as  to  Superintendents  of  many 
of  the  leading  factories  of  Gloversville. 

To  Professors  E.  R.  A.  Seligman  and  H.  R.  Seager 
the  writer  owes  a  generous  measure  of  gratitude  for  the 
kindly  consideration  and  helpful  suggestions  offered  by 
them  at  all  stages  of  this  work. 

To  my  colleague  Victor  Oscar  Freeburg  thanks  are 
due  for  assistance  in  proof  reading.  Fullest  appreciation 
is  expressed  for  the  sympathy  and  encouragement  given 
by  Professor  Erastus  Palmer  of  the  College  of  the  City 
of  New  York  who  has  in  large  degree  made  this  study 
possible. 


263734 


CONTENTS 


PAGB 

CHAPTER  I 
INTRODUCTION 

The  reason  for  undertaking  a  study  of  this  kind;  Limitatious  upon 
selection;  Adaptability  of  glove  industry  for  study;  Relation  be- 
tween glove  industry  and  Protective  Tariff;  Sources  of  infor- 
mation    7 

CHAPTER  II 
HISTORICAL  SKETCH 

Peculiarity  of  location  of  the  industry;  Origin  in  New  York  State; 
Domestic  stage  of  the  industry;  The  beginning  of  commercial 
growth;  Rise  of  bartering  or  jobbing  system;  Company  stores; 
Breaking  up  of  company  stores  and  transfer  of  seat  of  industry 
to  Gloversville;  Development  of  factory  stage;  Introduction  of 
tariff  as  a  factor  in  industry  in  1890 16 

CHAPTER  III 
RAW   MATERIALS 

Indian-tanned  deerskins;  Mocha  and  its  discovery;  Napa;  Cape; 
Miscellaneous 16 

CHAPTER  IV 
PROCESSES  OF  MANUFACTURE 

Glove  manufacture  distinguished  from  tanning;  Dowling;  Sorting; 
Methods  of  cutting;  By-products;  Training  of  cutters;  Inspec- 
tions; Silking;  Making;  Arrangement  of  Machines  and  use  of 
power;  Minor  operations 20 

CHAPTER  V 
INDUSTRIAL  ASPECTS 

I.  TENDENCIES 
The  tendency  of  the  industrial  development 25 


6  CONTENTS 

FAGS 

II.    DISTRIBUTION   OF   LABOR   FORCE  AND   EARNINGS 

Transition  from  domestic  stage  to  factory  stage;  Decrease  in  num- 
ber of  shops;  Peculiarities  of  factory  system;  The  earnings  of 
cutters;  Comparison  with  earnings  in  other  trades;  Distribution 
of  makers;  Earnings  of  makers;  The  "putting  out"  system; 
Percentage  of  wage  earners  of  Fulton  County;  Glove  trade; 
Efforts  to  increase  labor  force;  General  efficiency  of  factories.  25 

III.    LABOR   ORGANIZATION 

Growth  of  unions;  Strike  of  1881;  Strike  of  1893;  Strike  of  1897; 
Strike  of  1903;  Breaking  up  of  the  union 36 

IV.    THE   MANUFACTURERS   ASSOCIATION 

Its  history;  Its  organization;  Its  objects;  Its  effects 42 

V.    FACTORY   DISTRIBUTION 

Location  of  factories  within  cities;  Methods  of  putting  out  gloves; 
Introduction  of  power  machines  in  homes;  Combination  of 
factory  methods  and  domestic  system;  Outlook  for  the  future 
development 44 

CHAPTER  VI 

TARIFFS 

The  relation  between  the  glove  industry  and  the  tariff;  Classes 
affected  by  tariff;  Facts  for  basis  of  the  tariff;  The  beginning  of 
protection,  1890;  Change  of  basis  in  rate  from  ad  valorem  to 
specific;  Division  of  field  by  different  rates;  The  weight  of  the 
burden  on  the  consumer;  Consumer's  right  to  facts  as  to  cost 
of  fabrication;  Wages  and  labor  cost;  The  workers'  share  in 
cost  of  fabrication;  Fixing  of  rate  of  pay;  Basis  for  computa- 
tion of  rate;  The  tariff  on  raw  material  and  reduction  of  rate; 
Rate  on  women's  gloves 47 

CHAPTER  VII 
SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSION 67 


CHAPTER  I 
INTRODUCTION 

RECENT  efforts  to  fix  responsibility  for  the  increased 
cost  of  living  have  directed  attention  to  all  the  different 
factors  determining  prices.  Among  these  factors  the 
Protective  Tariff  is  certainly  important.  The  public 
mind  demands  an  explanation  of  the  relation  between 
economic  theory  and  political  practice  in  the  adjustment 
of  tariff  rates. 

The  chief  difficulty  seems  to  be  that  among  the  many 
conflicting  issues  raised  by  various  manufacturing  inter- 
ests the  basic  facts  of  cost  of  production  and  general 
industrial  efficiency  in  any  given  industry  may  be  over- 
looked or  concealed. 

To  ascertain  what  these  basic  facts  actually  are  it  is 
necessary  to  make  detailed  studies  of  the  separate 
branches  of  the  American  Industrial  System.  An  obvi- 
ous difficulty  lies  in  the  fact  that  practically  no  industry 
in  our  modern  system  is  entirety  independent  of  all  others. 
What  is  for  one  industry  a  finished  product  may  become 
the  raw  material  for  another  industry.  This  fact  limits 
the  field  for  selection  of  an  industry  to  be  studied.  Se- 
lection is  further  limited  by  the  fact  that  an  example 
must  be  taken,  in  which  the  effect  of  the  political  factors 
is  sufficiently  evident  to  be  easily  traced. 

With  the  choice  limited  in  this  way,  the  writer  has 
undertaken  to  investigate  the  Glove  Industry  in  the 
United  States.  At  the  time  of  the  passage  of  the  Payne- 

7 


g  THE  LEATHER  GLOVE  INDUSTRY 

Aldrich  Tariff  Law,  public  discussion  centered  in  the 
closing  weeks  of  the  preparation  of  the  bill,  particularly 
about  the  tariff  rate  on  gloves  and  hosiery.  This  rate 
upon  gloves  was  even  made  the  subject  of  a  communica- 
tion from  the  President  to  the  conference  committee  at 
the  very  close  of  the  session.1 

This  study  is  an  attempt  to  set  forth  the  history  of  the 
glove  industry  in  the  United  States  or  more  properly 
that  part  of  the  industry  which  competes  with  foreign- 
made  gloves,  and  to  point  out  the  actual  facts  upon 
which  the  determination  of  the  rate  on  gloves  should 
depend.  In  doing  this  some  attention  must  necessarily 
be  paid  to  the  relation  between  political  action  and 
economic  law,  but  the  effort  will  be  made  to  keep  as  far 
as  possible  from  political  controversy  and  as  near  as 
possible  to  economic  fact. 

Admittedly  the  fine  glove  industry  in  the  United 
States  is  the  direct  outgrowth  of  the  Protective  Tariff,3 
hence  the  method  of  determining  the  tariff  rate  on 
gloves  cannot  be  overlooked.  The  tariff  influence  was 
not  felt  until  1890,  and  from  that  time  a  sharp  differen- 
tiation has  taken  place  between  the  heavy  glove  branch 
of  the  industry  and  the  fine  glove  branch.  This  study 
does  not  attempt  to  deal  with  the  heavy  goods  branch 
after  the  separation  took  place  in  1890,  but  is  confined 
to  the  fine  glove  branch.  It  is  in  the  latter  branch  that 
the  American  manufacturers  are  brought  into  competi- 
tion with  the  foreign  makers. 

Gloves  of  some  kind  are  made  in  almost  every  state. 
Heavy  leather  gloves  are  made  chiefly  in  the  west,  near 

1  Outlook,  Dec.  2,  1911,  p.  813. 

'Appendix,  Extract  from  Argument  of  the  Glove  Manufacturers 
Association  of  the  United  States. 


INTRODUCTION  g 

the  source  of  supply  of  the  heavier  grade  of  skins  used 
in  their  manufacture.  According  to  the  Census  of 
Manufactures,  1905,  Bulletin  72,  43  per  cent,  of  the 
total  number  of  gloves  made  in  the  United  States  were 
produced  in  Fulton  County,  N.  Y. ;  while  of  the  finer 
grades,  those  coming  into  competition  with  gloves  of 
foreign  make,  90  per  cent,  to  95  per  cent,  are  made  in 
Fulton  County,  N.  Y.  Hence  the  study  of  the  Leather 
Glove  Industry  in  this  one  county  will  furnish  a  clear 
view  of  the  whole  situation  in  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER  II 
HISTORICAL  SKETCH 

IN  the  consideration  of  the  location  of  any  extensive 
industry,  the  main  line  of  investigation  would  naturally 
be  directed  toward  showing  the  relation  between  the 
center  of  the  industry  and  some  natural  condition  favor- 
able to  its  development.  Such  a  condition,  for  example, 
might  be  nearness  to  the  supply  of  raw  material  or 
proximity  to  the  market.  The  very  title  of  this  study 
indicates  that  nearness  to  the  market  can  not  be  the 
most  important  one,  since  the  product  must  necessarily 
be  distributed  wherever  gloves  are  worn.  Turning  to 
the  other  line  of  investigation  we  are  again  struck  by  the 
absence  of  any  tangible  relationship  at  the  present  time. 
As  we  shall  show  in  a  following  chapter  practically  every 
quarter  of  the  globe  is  drawn  upon  for  the  supply  of 
skins  that  go  to  make  glove  leather. 

Curiosity  is  aroused  by  this  double  failure  to  explain 
the  location  of  the  glove  industry.  As  a  needle  industry, 
partly  domestic,  it  is  independent  of  such  natural  condi- 
tions as  mineral  supply  or  water  power,  but  again  we  are 
puzzled  to  explain  the  fact  that  a  needle  industry  should 
be  so  far  removed  from  large  centers  of  population  and 
placed  in  the  midst  of  an  agricultural  section  having,  as 
we  have  said,  no  substantial  part  in  the  supply  of  the  raw 
materials. 

The  final  solution  does,  however,  show  an  historical 
justification,  for  we  learn  that  in  the  very  early  stages  of 
10 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH  H 

development  a  series  of  strange  accidents  led  to  the 
growth  of  glove  making  simply  as  an  outgrowth  of  an 
industry  long  since  passed  away.  Industrial  history  con- 
tains many  interesting  parallels  to  this  case,  for  it  was  an 
attempt  to  utilize  what  might  be  called  a  by-product  of 
the  earliest  manufacturing  business  of  Fulton  County 
that  really  gave  us  the  present  well-developed  glove  in- 
dustry. Early  records  of  a  day  when  manufacturing 
enterprises  were  so  rare  as  to  attract  considerable  local 
attention,  record  the  opening  of  a  small  tinware  factory 
at  Kirigsboro,  now  a  suburb  of  Gloversville.  In  under- 
taking this  business  the  main  thought  of  its  founder 
must  have  been  much  more  occupied  with  the  manufac- 
turing side  than  with  the  disposition  of  his  product,  for 
the  only  considerable  market  found  for  Kingsboro  tin- 
ware was  among  the  Indians  and  early  settlers,  who  had 
little  to  offer  in  return  save  hides  and  skins.  The  In- 
dians supplied  principally  deerskins,  for  which  the  fur- 
trading  companies  of  the  region  did  not  make  a  strong 
demand.  The  quality  of  these  skins  was  exceptionally 
fine,  and  the  trade  name  "Indian-tanned  deerskin  "  soon 
became  a  synonym  for  flexibility  and  durability  of  the 
leather. 

So  valued  was  the  process  that  it  was  made  the  basis 
of  a  stoutly  contested  law  suit  growing  out  of  an  attempt 
to  patent  the  process.  The  process  was  in  itself  a 
simple  one  and  consisted  in  beating  into  the  skin  the 
brains  of  the  animal,  which  gave  the  leather  a  very  soft, 
pliable  finish. 

The  economic  advantage  in  a  frontier  settlement,  of  a 
supply  of  deerskins  even  though  beautifully  tanned,  over 
a  supply  of  tinware  is  not  at  once  apparent.  First 
attempts  to  utilize  the  skins  must  of  course  be  looked 
for  in  the  domestic  life  of  the  settlers  and  we  find  that  a 


12  THE  LEATHER  GLOVE  INDUSTRY 

deerskin  palm  upon  mittens  was  the  readiest  use.  This 
soon  gave  way  to  the  fashioning,  it  can  hardly  be  called 
manufacture  in  the  modern  sense,  of  the  entire  mitten 
from  leather. 

These  leather  mittens  found  so  ready  a  sale  among 
the  wood  choppers  and  workmen  in  the  surrounding 
settlements  that  their  production  soon  became  a  means 
of  occupation,  particularly  during  the  winter  months,  for 
whole  families.  Yet  for  a  long  time  the  development 
was  purely  a  domestic  one.  The  men  usually  cut  the 
mittens  and  the  sewing  was  done  by  the  women  and 
girls  of  their  own  families. 

The  next  advance  in  the  industry,  for  such  we  may 
now  call  it,  came  about  through  the  efforts  of  Sir  Wm. 
Johnson  who  in  1760  gave  his  aid  to  a  company  of 
glovers  who  came  from  Perthshire  in  Scotland  to  Fulton 
county  and  settled  at  Perth  in  vthe  eastern  part  of  the 
country.  Perth  remains  but  is  no  longer  associated 
with  the  glove  industry  except  in  a  remote  way.  The 
original  company  brought  with  them  from  Scotland 
especially  adapted  needles  and  patterns  of  the  gloves 
produced  in  Perthshire, 

Here  we  have  a  marked  departure  from  the  slow 
evolutionary  process  of  the  earlier  stages  to  the  sharp 
transition  that  is  evinced  in  the  change  from  a  crudely 
fashioned  woodsman's  mitten  to  the  elaborately  tanned 
and  finely  made  gloves  produced  by  workmen  trained  in 
the  well  established  guild  system  of  Scotland.  The 
company  of  glovers  was  small  and  their  product  found 
immediate  favor  in  the  settlements  so  it  was  not  until  1809 
after  time  had  been  given  for  the  training  of  two  new 
generations  in  the  business  that  trade  was  sufficiently 
well  supplied  to  enable  the  product  to  extend  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  adjoining  towns.  In  that  year  Tal- 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH  £3 

madge  Edwards  went  to  Albany  with  a  bag  of  gloves 
fastened  to  his  saddle  horn '  and  the  event  is  hailed  with 
interest  by  the  local  chroniclers  as  marking  the  beginning 
of  a  new  era  and  the  development  of  commercial  activity 
in  a  community  hitherto  devoted  to  husbandry  alone. 

As  early  as  1825  Elisha  Johnson  made  a  trip  to  Boston 
with  a  wagon  load  of  gloves,  and  the  sight  of  the  money 
brought  back  gave  a  new  impetus  to  glove  making. 
Even  then  so  slow  is  the  training  of  a  labor  force  in  the 
industry  that  it  was  many  years  before  Fulton  Co.  gloves 
reached  the  more  remote  parts  of  the  U.  S.  There  is 
still  living  in  Gloversville  a  retired  manufacturer  who 
only  sixty  years  ago  took  to  Chicago  the  first  consign- 
ment of  gloves  to  be  sent  so  far  west. 

Up  to  the  early  70*5  the  principal  development  was 
that  of  the  jobbing  system.  No  single  manufacturer 
could  produce  in  those  times  a  whole  wagon  load  or 
other  large  consignment  of  gloves  so  it  naturally  fell  to 
the  lot  of  merchants  of  the  community  to  act  as  gatherers 
of  gloves  offered  in  small  lots  and  since  the  price  paid 
for  these  small  lots  was  usually  in  trade  a  large,  profitable 
business  soon  grew  up. 

During  these  years  the  force  of  workers  was  steadily 
though  slowly  growing  and  the  consequent  increase  in 
production  made  the  manufacturers  anxious  to  retain  the 
large  profits  going  to  the  jobber.  To  do  this  the  only 
logical  thing  was  for  the  manufacturer  to  sell  direct  to 
the  retail  trade  but  the  idea  growing  out  of  the  jobbing 
business  was  too  good  to  be  lost  and  it  took  on  a  new 
form  when  the  larger  manufacturers  first,  and  later 
practically  all  opened  stores  to  supply  goods  to  the 
workers. 

1  Washington  Frothingham,  History  of  Fulton  Co.  Also  Census 
1900,  Part  III,  Manufacturers,  p.  794. 


14  THE  LEATHER  GLOVE  INDUSTRY 

The  results  of  this  method  are  too  well  known  in  the 
economic  world  to  need  description.  They  could  only 
be  here  what  they  have  always  been,  pressure  on  the 
workers  from  both  ends.  This  pressure  was  further 
intensified  by  the  fact  that  the  jobbers  who  had  worked 
up  a  profitable  distributing  trade  and  who  found  them- 
selves without  goods  to  supply  it,  opened  shops  of  their 
own.  At  first  glance  duplication  of  shops  would  seem 
to  be  a  good  thing  for  the  laborer  for  there  would  be 
an  increased  demand  for  his  labor.  Here  however  the 
consequent  increase  of  production  served  to  lower  prices 
and  there  was  but  one  source  from  which  profits  could 
be  kept  up.  They  must  come  from  manufacturing  cost. 
Leather  as  we  shall  show  in  a  later  chapter  tends  con- 
stantly to  go  up  so  nothing  could  be  saved  in  material. 
The  labor  charge  must  be  lowered  and  under  the  truck- 
ing system  this  was  easy.  Two  methods  would  prove 
equally  effective.  The  rate  of  pay  might  be  lowrered  or 
prices  of  goods  might  be  increased.  Extend  the  process 
further  by  an  annual  settlement  plan  and  we  have  the 
system  at  its  worst. 

The  only  result  must  be  a  strike  and  this  came  in  1881. 
The  glove  workers  were  not  a  strong  organization  but 
they  were  promised  help  from  the  Knights  of  Labor. 

The  demand  of  the  workers  was  for  cash  payment  and 
this  they  secured.  While  there  was  no  demand  for  a 
higher  rate  of  pay  the  removal  of  the  trucking  system 
had  the  effect  of  an  increase. 

During  all  the  transitions  described  in  the  preceding 
paragraphs  the  social  forces  had  kept  pace  with  the  eco- 
nomic ones.  The  Puritanical  ideas  of  the  New  England 
founders  of  Kingsboro  and  the  equally  conservative 
traditions  of  Johnstown,  inherited  from  Sir  Wm.  Johnson 
and  his  Tory  followers  did  not  comport  with  the  freer 
demands  of  a  growing  industrial  community. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH  x- 

The  more  adventurous  spirits  from  the  two  older  com- 
munities found  common  ground  at  Gloversville  a  little 
outside  of  both  and  set  up  a  new  village  dedicated  even 
by  its  name  to  business.  While  Johnstown  has  continued 
to  grow  it  has  been  outstripped  by  Gloversville  which  is 
now,  1910,  a  thriving  well  ordered  city  of  20,642.  Kings- 
boro  lives  practically  only  in  name  as  a  section  of  Glovers- 
ville which  has  enveloped  it. 

The  new  industrial  developments  rapidly  advanced. 
Factory  organization,  the  perfection  of  sewing  machines 
and  the  growth  of  population  in  the  United  States  in  the 
late  8o's  increased  demand  for  gloves.  Better  organiza- 
tion of  the  laborers  following  the  successful  strike  of 
1881  led  to  demands  for  increased  wages. 

To  meet  this  demand  and  to  insure  the  enjoyment  of 
the  growing  market  the  glove  manufacturers,  like  all 
other  industries  of  that  time,  turned  to  the  tariff  and  in 
1890  secured  the  first  rate  that  offered  protection  in  the 
ordinary  sense  of  the  term.  In  a  later  chapter  this 
relationship  will  be  more  fully  pointed  out. 


CHAPTER  III 
RAW  MATERIALS 

Industrial  History  contains  few  more  interesting 
stories  of  growth  than  can  be  told  in  describing  the 
wide  varieties  of  material  that  go  or  have  gone  to  the 
making  of  a  leather  glove.  From  simple  trading  of  tin 
cups  for  deerskins  the  search  for  glove  leather  has  gone 
through  many  interesting  chapters  of  voyage,  conquest 
and  discovery. 

Advancing  colonization  soon  drove  back  the  Indian 
and  the  deer  alike  depleting  both  in  the  retreat.  While 
the  glove  trade  is  free  from  any  such  stigma  of  wanton 
destruction  as  that  attached  to  the  killing  of  buffaloes,  it 
undoubtedly  played  a  contributing  part  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  our  great  national  game  supplies.  The  animals 
of  the  North  American  Continent  that  have  given  up 
their  skins  for  glove  making  were  nearly  all  food  animals, 
only  in  the  later  stages  of  the  search  in  Africa  and  Asia 
have  animals  been  killed  for  their  skins  alone.1 

As  the  number  of  deerskins  diminished,  the  antelope 
of  our  Western  plains  increased  in  supply  but  this  again 
was  only  a  temporary  source.  Efforts  were  made  to 
find  a  new  raw  material  and  another  accident  hastened 
its  discovery.  In  a  shipment  of  Mocha  coffee  coming  to 
Boston  from  Hodeidah,  a  port  on  the  Red  Sea,  there 
were  a  few  bales  of  skins  of  the  haired  sheep  of  Arabia. 
The  skins  were  sent  to  a  Boston  tanner  and  made  so 


1  Tariff  Heatings,  Nov.  28,  1908,  p'.-25«3  seq. 
16 


RAW  MATERIALS  !7 

good  a  grade  of  leather  that  a  very  extensive  trade  has 
developed.1  American  tanners  have  outstripped  their 
rivals  in  the  tannage  of  this  one  kind  of  leather.  There 
is  a  steady  demand  in  many  European  centers  for  the 
American  product  which  is  known  to  the  trade  by  the 
name  "Mocha." 

Next  in  importance  comes  "  Napa,"  made  from  the 
skin  of  the  sheep  from  the  steppes  of  Russia.  The  sup- 
ply of  this  is  limited  to  about  half  a  million  skins  per 
year.  Modern  methods  are  well  illustrated  in  the  collec- 
tion of  these  skins.  Buyers  representing  those  houses 
able  to  send  men  abroad  congregate  at  the  fairs  through- 
out the  region  and  agree  upon  a  price.  This  gentlemen's 
agreement  is  quite  effective,  and  the  skins  are  divided 
after  they  are  purchased  according  to  the  prearranged 
percentage  among  those  firms  only  which  are  represented 
on  the  spot. 

Thus  these  makers  have  a  monopoly  of  the  whole 
supply,  and  smaller  houses  can  get  Napa  only  from  the 
larger  ones.  From  the  markets  the  skins  are  sent  to 
Germany  to  be  dressed,  arriving  in  the  United  States  as 
finished  leather  some  months  after  their  purchase. 

More  plentiful  than  Napa  are  Cape,  the  skins  of  sheep 
grown  in  South  Africa.  This  material  is  very  popular 
because  of  its  comparative  cheapness  and  durability. 
Here  again  the  German  tanners  have  the  field,  but 
Americans  are  gaining  rapidly.  Though  making  service- 
able gloves,  Cape  skins  are  difficult  to  cut  because  of  the 
carelessness  and  lack  of  skill  with  which  the  sheep  and 
hides  are  handled  in  South  Africa.  Many  of  the  skins 
show  knife  cuts  made  in  removing  them,  and  many  also 
are  damaged  by  wire-fence  scars. 

1  Census,  1900,  Part  III,  Manufacturers,  p.  ;g6. 


iS  THE  LEATHER  GLOVE  INDUSTRY 

Space  does  not  permit  us  to  enumerate  and  describe 
all  the  kinds  of  skins  that  have  been  used.  Those  de- 
scribed make  up  the  great  bulk  of  the  supply.  The 
humble  sheep  skin  of  Arabia  or  the  Cape  may  often 
appear  under  a  more  pretentious  name.  South  America 
has  been  drawn  upon  for  deer  skins  and  a  few  others. 
As  a  general  principle  the  skins  of  animals  grown  in 
high  altitudes  and  cold  climates  have  finer  texture  and 
are  best  adapted  to  the  superior  grades  of  gloves.  This 
fact  accounts  for  the  quality  of  the  French  kid  gloves. 
Some  of  these  are  made  in  the  United  States,  but  the 
number  is  not  large.  The  skill  of  the  American  cutters 
is  fully  equal  to  the  task  of  handling  kid,  but  the  sewing 
requires  so  much  more  care  than  the  heavier  grades  that 
it  is  difficult  to  attract  makers  to  the  work. 

The  following  figures  taken  from  the  Census  of  1905 
give  a  summary  of  the  total  consumption  of  the  various 
grades  of  leather  for  that  year.1  The  figures  in  each  case 
represent  the  number  of  dozens  of  skins :  Deerskins, 
66,280;  sheepskins  (imported),  88,881  ;  sheepskins  (do- 
mestic), 342,764;  kid  and  suede  (imported),  100,282; 
hogskins  (imported),  140,502;  hogskins  (domestic), 
35,013;  horse  and  cow  hides,  170,633;  all  other  varieties, 
441,880. 

1  Census  of  Manufactures,  IQOS,  Bulletin  72. 


CHAPTER  IV 
PROCESSES  OF  MANUFACTURE 

WHILE  modern  industrial  methods  have  done  much  to 
improve  the  processes  of  manufacture  of  leather  gloves 
there  yet  remain  many  processes  which  to  all  appearances 
cannot  be  further  improved.  No  product  meeting  with 
the  intimate  inspection  given  to  one's  gloves  can  be  care- 
lessly turned  out.  The  individuality  required  for  the  fit 
of  a  glove  makes  necessary  a  more  delicate  adjustment  of 
tension  than  any  that  can  be  formed  in  the  average  ma- 
chine product.  Division  of  labor  had  advanced  from  the 
first  stages  in  which  all  the  work  was  done  by  a  single 
person  or  family  until  under  present  practice  as  many  as 
forty  separate  handlings  are  required  after  the  skin 
reaches  the  cutter  to  send  out  the  finished  gloves  boxed 
and  ready  to  be  worn. 

The  standard  processes  as  listed  in  the  Report  of  the 
Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics  1908,  Part  i,  are  sorting, 
shaving,  cutting,  slitting  or  punching  of  tranks,1  trim- 
ming of  tranks,  needle  sewing  to  prepare  the  gloves  for 
the  silker,  silking,  pulling,  making,  hemming  or  finish- 
ing, laying-off,  fastening,  tacking,  examining,  sorting, 
banding  and  boxing. 

While  some  of  these  processes  blend  into  others  by 
easy  stages,  yet  in  the  main  they  are  entirely  distinct  and 
most  of  them  require  a  highly  specialized  grade  of  skill. 

1  Atrank  is  the  rectangular  piece  of  leather  from  which  the  glove  will 
eventually  be  cut. 

IQ 


20  THE  LEATHER  GLOVE  INDUSTRY 

We  must  omit  from  so  limited  a  discussion  as  the 
present  a  description  of  the  treatment  of  the  skins  and 
begin  at  once  with  the  manufacture  proper  of  gloves. 

The  finished  leather  is  the  raw  material  for  the  manu- 
facture of  gloves.  We  have  first  the  dowling  or  shaving 
of  the  skins,  a  process  formerly  done  by  hand  with  a 
peculiar  disc-shaped  knife  or  with  a  chisel-shaped  instru- 
ment, but  now  done  by  a  machine  or  upon  a  revolving 
stone  similar  to  a  grinding  stone.  Great  skill  is  required 
to  make  the  skin  uniform  in  thickness. 

Then  comes  a  sorting  of  the  skins  and  a  careful  grad- 
ing. This  requires  a  very  high  degree  of  skill.  The 
sorter  must  be  able  to  tell  by  a  glance  along  the  surface 
of -the  skin  just  what  grade  of  glove  it  will  make  best; 
also,  he  must  be  able  to  estimate  the  number  of  gloves 
or  pairs  of  gloves  that  can  be  made  from  each  skin.  In 
some  of  the  shops  of  the  older  type  this  was  largely  a 
matter  of  estimate  giving  rise  to  a  large  amount  of  waste. 
In  France,  according  to  Dr.  Cote,1  this  went  so  far  as  to 
develop  a  regular  trade  in  stolen  skins. 

In  the  modern  conduct  of  the  business  each  skin  is 
measured  to  a  nicety  by  a  machine  and  a  computation  is 
made  to  show  the  number  of  square  inches  of  leather 
required  for  the  lot  of  gloves.  A  careful  measurement 
is  also  made  of  all  leather  returned  by  the  cutter,  and 
savings  down  to  the  fraction  of  a  square  foot  are  noted. 

After  the  inspection  and  measurement  the  skins  go  to 
the  cutters  upon  whom  depends  the  quality  of  the  glove 
and  to  a  large  extent  its  cost. 

There  are  three  distinct  methods  of  cutting:  table 
cutting,  pull-down  or  American  table  cutting,  and  block 
cutting.  The  most  approved  of  these  methods  is  the 

xC6te,  V Industrie  ganticre  et  Vcuvrier  &  Grenoble,  Paris,  1903. 


PROCESSES  OF  MANUFACTURE 


21 


so-called  "  table  cutting."  The  skin  is  stretched  upon  a 
table,  folded  and  cut  lengthwise  into  two  pieces.  Then 
from  each  piece  is  cut  a  rectangular  section  of  leather, 
called  a  "trank,"  a  little  smaller  than  the  pattern  of  the 
glove  to  be  made.  This  smaller  piece  is  then  stretched 
thoroughly  to  the  size  of  the  pattern,  numbered  with  its 
size,  its  pair  number  and  the  cutter's  number.  From 
the  same  part  of  the  skin  must  come  the  thumbs,  the 


Showing  general  method  of  getting  'gloves  from  skin  to  insure  sameness  in 
leather.  Parts  of  leather  outside  of  dotted  line  are  by-products  going  to  make 
pocket  books,  etc. 

"fourchettes,"  and  the  "quirks"  if  not  included  in  the 
pattern.  This  insures  a  careful  matching  of  the  leather 
in  each  glove  and  pair  of  gloves  as  to  texture,  weight, 
and  color. 

Great  skill  is  required  to  stretch  the  leather  so  evenly 
that  the  finished  glove  will  not  bag  or  draw.  It  also 
requires  good  judgment  to  estimate  the  stretching  power 
of  the  leather  so  well  as  to  throw  out  all  damaged  spots. 
Few  skins  will  yield  three  pairs  of  first-quality  gloves. 


22  THE  LEATHER  GLOVE  INDUSTRY 

To  acquire  the  skill  necessary  for  cutting  a  three-year 
apprenticeship  is  required,1  and  even  after  that  only  about 
one  cutter  in  three  is  a  really  first-class  workman.  Most 
of  the  "  table  cutters  "  are  foreign-born  and  learned  their 
trade  abroad. 

Next  comes  the  "  pull  down "  or  "  American  table 
cutting,"  said  by  some  to  produce  as  good  gloves  as 
"table  cutting,"  but  generally  said  to  turn  out  an  in- 
ferior grade.  By  this  process  the  whole  skin  is  stretched 
and  the  pattern  laid  on.  It  is  evident  that  the  tension 
could  not  be  so  even  as  in  the  table-cutting  process. 
Separate  and  lower  schedules  of  pay  are  maintained  for 
"American  table  cutting,"  as  this  method  is  termed. 
(See  Appendix  I). 

The  block  cutters  simply  lay  upon  the  skin  a  die  and 
hammer  out  the  forms. 

With  the  selection  of  the  "trank"  the  work  of  the 
cutter  is  finished,  His  is  the  work  of  selecting  and 
stretching  the  leather  in  such  a  way  that  when  all  the 
slits  required  by  the  patterns  (see  cut,  p.  21)  are  made 
there  shall  be  no  damaged  spots  in  the  glove.  The 
tranks  go  from  the  cutter  to  an  operator,  who  inserts 
them  in  a  machine  called  a  slitter.  This  machine  con- 
tains a  die  which  stamps  out  the  lines  of  the  glove,  as  is 
shown  by  the  cut. 

The  next  step  is  an  inspection  to  determine  whether 
the  cutter  has  so  arranged  the  leather  that  all  blemishes 
have  been  removed  by  the  slitting  machine.  If  blem- 
ishes appear,  the  glove  is  returned  to  the  cutter,  who 
must  supply  a  new  "  trank,"  in  some  shops  at  his  own 
expense. 

1 N.  y.  State  Dept.  of  Labor,  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics,  1908,  Part 
I,  P-  155. 


PROCESSES  OF  MANUFACTURE  23 

Each  lot  or  dozen  is  then  sent  to  the  "silkefs"  or  ma- 
chine operators,  who  put  the  rows  of  embroidery  upon 
the  back  of  the  glove.  To  complete  this  process,  the 
gloves  pass  through  the  hands  of  three  operators. 
About  one-third  of  the  workers  at  this  process  are  men. 
The  machines  are  run  at  a  very  high  tension  and  women 
find  it  difficult  to  endure  the  strain. 

The  making  proper  is  now  begun,  which  may  be  di- 
vided into  several  operations  according  to  the  grade  to 
which  the  gloves  belong.  For  example,  in  pique  a  sep- 
arate operator  closes  the  glove.  Only  a  very  few  opera- 
tors have  sufficient  skill  for  closing  and  they  have  a  prac- 
tical monopoly  of  this  branch  of  work. 

The  sewing  machines  in  all  factories  are  power-driven 
and  are  run  at  a  very  high  speed  as  a  rule.  They  are 
arranged  in  rows  above  a  shaft,  the  treadle  controlling 
the  starting  and  stopping  device,  and  a  lever  operated  by 
the  maker's  knee  lifts  and  lowers  the  needle  bar.  This 
arrangement  leaves  the  operator's  hands  free  for  handling 
the  pieces  of  leather,  and  even  then  so  delicate  are  many 
of  the  adjustments  that  the  fingers  alone  cannot  make 
them,  so  the  makers  use  a  small  pair  of  pinchers  to  bring 
the  edges  together.  Training  of  makers  usually  requires 
half  a  year.  All  the  work  is  piece  work,  so  an  operator 
can  rest  if  it  is  necessary.  In  fact,  the  manufacturers 
claim  that  it  is  impossible  to  enforce  any  kind  of  regu- 
larity either  in  hours  or  work. 

We  will  omit  a  description  of  many  of  the  little  oper- 
ations, such  as  binding,  putting  on  button  stays  or  but- 
tons ;  for  many  of  these  operations  the  gloves  are  sent 
out  of  the  factory,  sometimes  to  three  or  more  people  in 
succession. 

Some  families  do  all  the  making  at  home,  receiving 
the  gloves  and  fittings  and  returning  the  gloves  to  go 


24  THE  LEATHER  GLOVE  INDUSTRY 

through  the  final  examination,  "  laying  off,"  and  polish- 
ing. 

The  "laying  off"  is  done  by  smoothing  the  now  com- 
pletely sewn  glove  upon  a  metal  form  "  hand  shaped." 
heated  by  steam  or  electricity.  The  polishing  is  done 
upon  a  plush  wheel  or  buffer  revolving  at  high  speed. 
Finally  the  gloves  are  buttoned,  reinspected  and  packed. 


CHAPTER  V 

INDUSTRIAL  ASPECTS 

IN  this  chapter  we  will  describe  the  industrial  features 
of  the  industry.  We  will  point  out  the  line  of  develop- 
ment in  manufacture,  calling  special  attention  to  the  fact 
that  in  the  glove  industry  there  is  a  peculiar  combina- 
tion of  domestic  and  factory  systems  of  production. 
We  will  show  that  the  present  tendency  is  toward  a 
spread  of  the  domestic  system.  We  will  show  that  the 
reason  for  this  development  is  partly  economic  and 
partly  artificial,  and  lastly  we  will  show  that  the  main- 
tenance of  a  normal  community  calls  for  constructive 
change  which  will  result  in  a  more  normal  balance 
between  the  wages  of  men  and  the  wages  of  women. 

DISTRIBUTION    OF    LABOR    FORCE    AND    EARNINGS 

It  is  a  rather  noticeable  fact  that  the  progress  of  this 
industry  has  been  practically  in  a  circle. 

In  Chapter  II  we  pointed  out  that  glove  making  as  an 
industry  resulted  accidentally  from  efforts  to  utilize  the 
skins  obtained  by  barter  and  was  purely  domestic. 

The  factory  stage  was  not  slow  to  appear,  but  in  this 
industry  a  somewhat  slower  development  has  gone  on 
than  in  many  others,  which  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
making  is  so  largely  a  needle  trade  and  the  ordinary 
domestic  sewing  machine  serves  very  well  for  the  busi- 
ness. There  was  a  stage  when,  according  to  a  retired 
manufacturer,  every  man  who  had  the  price  of  a  skin, 
bought  one,  took  it  home,  placed  it  on  a  block  and  cut 

25 


26  THE  LEATHER  GLOVE  INDUSTRY 

out  gloves  to  be  sewed  by  his  wife.  Whether  this  be 
literally  true  or  not,  it  is  true  that  there  is  an  enormous 
number  of  little  backyard  shops  or  factories.  These  have 
at  one  time  been  operated  in  a  small  way.  Some  of  them 
are  now  run  by  small  sub-contractors  or  on  club  sys- 
tems. The  census  figures  show  that  the  number  was 
smaller  in  1905  than  in  1900.' 

The  number  may  constantly  vary  because  there  is  a 
very  large  marginal  element  in  this  industry.  A  good 
cutter  is  ever  ready  to  begin  business  for  himself  or  to 
take  contracts  from  the  large  manufacturers. 

The  factory  system  in  the  glove  industry  is  a  peculiar 
one.  Most  of  the  "  makers "  own  their  machines  and 
take  them  to  the  factory  where  they  are  employed  or 
rent  power  in  their  own  homes.  In  the  factories  (ex- 
cept some  of  the  most  recently  built)  operators  were 
compelled  to  pay  for  power,  oil,  needles  and  repairs  for 
their  own  machines,  thus  relieving  the  manufacturer  of  a 
part  of  the  overhead  charges.  This  latter  condition  was 
the  basis  of  the  strikes  about  Chicago,  and  has  been  done 
away  with  in  Fulton  County  by  the  rivalry  of  the  newer 
factories,  which  provide  power  at  their  own  expense. 

In  describing  the  processes  we  laid  stress  on  the  fact 
that  the  cutters  have  the  highest  degree  of  skill,  coupled 
with  qualities  of  judgment  that  make  them  a  selected 
body  of  men.  In  the  argument  before  the  Ways  and 
Means  Committee  on  November  28,  1908  the  manu- 
facturers' representative  stated  that  cutters  make  from 
$3.50  to  $4.00  per  day.  While  there  is  only  a  limited 
number  of  cutters  in  Fulton  County,  an  exact  determina- 
tion of  the  rate  of  pay  is  very  hard  to  obtain.  According 
to  the  Report  of  the  New  York  State  Department  of 
Labor  for  1908  (p.  116)  the  average  wages  of  the  sixty- 
1  Census  of  Manufactures,  1905,  Bulletin  No.  72. 


INDUSTRIAL  ASPECTS  27 

seven  union  cutters  reported  is  $1.75  per  day.  The 
union  cutters,  however,  may  not  be  a  representative  body 
as  will  be  shown  in  the  discussion  of  labor  unions  in 
another  part  of  this  chapter. 

In  the  Glove  Manufacturers'  Schedule  for  1910'  (the 
same  as  for  1908),  the  flat  price  of  $3.00  per  day  is  set 
as  the  rate  of  pay  for  men  doing  certain  difficult  grades 
of  cutting  which  they  could  not  be  induced  to  undertake 
at  the  piece  rates  paid  for  the  ordinary  grades.  This 
fact  would  seem  to  argue  that  $3.00  is  so  far  in  excess 
of  the  ordinary  earnings  as  to  induce  men  to  do  the 
disagreeable  or  difficult  grades  of  work.  Hence  we 
conclude  that  the  average  is  less  than  $3.00. 

The  census  figures  *  show  for  all  men  in  the  industry 
an  average  annual  wage  as  follows  : 

Average  for  men  in  U.  S.  in  1900 $461  oo 

Average  for  men  in  Fulton  Co.  in  1900 305  oo 

Average  for  men  in  Fulton  Co.  in  1905 490  oo 

It  must  be  noted  here  that  this  classification  includes 
all  the  males  above  16  years  of  age  and  is  therefore 
practically  valueless  as  a  means  for  determining  the  earn- 
ings of  any  one  class. 

From  the  New  York  State  Department  of  Labor 
Report,  Bureau  of  Statistics,  1908,  Part  I,  p.  n,  Table 
A,  we  have  the  following : 

Per  cent,  of  Foreign  American  Wages         Years 
high  grade  born  per  born  per              per  apprentice- 
skill,  cent.  cent.  week.            ship. 

Male 83.2  43.4  56.6  $12-18             3 

Female  ...         89.9  16.2  83.8                 9-12              % 

From  the  same  report,  p.  156,  we  have  a  report  by 
employers  as  to  wages  paid. 

1  Glove  Manufacturers'  Schedule.     See  Appendix  I . 
1  Census,  1905,  Bulletin  72. 


28  THE  LEATHER  GLOVE  INDUSTRY 


Cutters..       .  ms.  ..         i  2  2214 

i.  Wages  ..     $11  $12        $13.50      $15        $16        $18 


Operators....  j  F^ms...         1312 
*-  Wages..     $10.50      $12  $14        $15 

The  same  report  gives  the  average  wages  of  men  in 
other  trades  requiring  three  to  four  years'  apprentice- 
ship, as  follows  : 

Trade  Wages.             Apprenticeship. 

Cut  glass  ........................  $15  3-5 

Castings  and  foundry  ............  18-20  3  -4 

Jewelry  .........................  18  3-6 

Furniture  .......................  12-15  3-4 

Pianos  ..........................  18-20  3-5 

Newspaper  printing  .............  14-23  3-5 

From  these  tables  we  see  that  as  compared  with  other 
skilled  workmen  requiring  the  same  period  of  prepara- 
tion the  glove  cutters  labor  at  a  disadvantage.  Further, 
the  slack  season  in  the  glove  industry  is  longer  than  in 
the  other  industries  of  the  table,  thus  making  the  disad- 
vantage even  greater  than  it  appears  from  the  comparison 
of  the  respective  earnings.  The  outlook  under  present 
conditions  is  not  favorable  for  cutters.  Their  earnings 
are  so  dependent  upon  the  quality  of  the  skins  which 
they  have  to  cut,  and  their  work  so  highly  specialized, 
that  it  is  not  fair  to  submit  their  trade  to  the  same  tests 
applying  to  clothing  cutters,  etc.,  who  have  uniform  ma- 
terial upon  which  to  work,  whereas  the  glove  cutters,  as 
shown  under  the  discussion  of  processes,  must  use  a  high 
quality  of  judgment  in  handling  their  greatly  varying  ma- 
terial. Attempts  are  being  made  to  organize  the  cutting 
room  on  the  factory  basis.  However,  the  exercise  of 
judgment  required  prevents  the  development  of  the  re- 
flex action  so  necessary  to  high  organization  and  speed 
work.  In  the  cheaper  grade  of  workmen's  mittens,  for 
which  all  blemishes  in  the  leather  need  not  be  removed, 


INDUSTRIAL  ASPECTS  29 

cutters  may  turn  out  as  many  as  six  dozen  pairs  per  day. 
In  the  finer  grades  of  work  the  factory  managers  esti- 
mate roughly  an  average  of  three  dozen  pairs  per  cutter 
per  day.  The  table  which  follows  shows  an  average  of 
fourteen  dozen  per  week.  Added  to  the  necessary  ele- 
ments of  business  condition  and  loss  of  time  in  slack 
seasons,  there  is  the  further  uncertainty  occasioned  by 
the  possibility  of  change  in  tariff  rate.  In  a  later  chapter 
this  phase  of  the  problem  will  be  examined  into  more 
fully. 

In  the  case  of  the  makers,  the  situation  is  quite  dif- 
ferent. While  the  cutters  (about  one  thousand  in  num- 
ber) are  all  found  in  Gloversville  and  Johnstown,  the 
makers  are  scattered  all  about  the  neighboring  counties. 
The  census  of  1900  previously  referred  to  quotes  "  a 
prominent  manufacturer,"  whose  name  is  not  given,  as 
stating  that  there  were  at  that  time  one  thousand  fam- 
ilies in  Hamilton,  Saratoga,  Herkimer  and  Montgomery 
counties  in  whose  homes  gloves  were  "  put  out"  to  be 
made  wholly  or  in  part.  He  estimates  that  most  of  the 
women  make  75  cents  per, day  or  about  $10  per  month, 
while  at  the  same  time  attending  to  their  household  la- 
bors. A  manufacturer  of  Johnstown  cited  a  case  of  a 
farmer's  family,  the  women  members  of  which  earn  $45 
to  $50  per  month.  The  gloves  thus  made  outside  of  the 
factory  are  chiefly  of  the  coarser,  cheaper  grades. 

There  is  a  very  active  demand  for  makers  and  as  a 
consequence,  it  is  impossible  to  establish  any  regular 
discipline  in  the  factories.  Although  the  Manufacturers' 
Association  states  in  its  schedule  (see  Appendix  I)  that 
regular  hours  will  be  observed  in  all  departments,  the 
rules  cannot  be  enforced.  Makers  may  be  seen  coming 
and  going  at  all  hours  and  the  air  of  the  making  room 
although  busy  is  not  one  of  rush.  This  may  be  partic- 


THE  LEATHER  GLOVE  INDUSTRY 
TABLE  A1 


Product 

in 

Product 

in 

Cutter. 

dozens  and 

I2ths 

Wages. 

Cutter. 

dozens  ?nd 

I2ths 

Wages. 

of  a  dozen. 

of  a  dozen. 

i 

6 

A 

$7.16 

42 

14 

6^ 

$15.13 

22 

19 

A 

20.58 

43 

18 

A 

19.35 

3 

fio 
I    9 

A  l 
A/ 

19.56 

44 

46 

5 
19    i 

1 

5-75 
20.32 

4 

10 

A 

10.78 

47 

17 

18.46 

5 

28 

29.68  i 

48 

;       21 

22.26 

7 

19 

.  . 

20.14  ij 

50 

20    : 

1  5 

T2 

21.  17 

8 

10 

16 
15 

A 

13.00 
15.90  || 

5<3 

(18 
i   6 

•H 

Y 

25.48 

16 

(I 

V}: 

15.01  ;; 

53 

f  10 

iio 

19.84 

17 

17 

18.02  : 

55 

9 

A 

10.34 

18 

{,0 

!ll! 

13.38  j 

56 
57 

M 
4 

H 

K 

1  5 

15.17 
4.95 

19 

« 

A}| 

18.61  |! 

58 
6 

5 
i 

A 

12 

21 

II 

\  9 

I   4 

ifl 

13.69  |i 
14.62  1| 

9 
II 

Jio 
I  6    | 
13 

A 

JS.02 
13.08 

22 
23 
24 

15 
17 

A) 

15.99  1 

9-93  :! 

18.02  1| 

14 

26 

u 
(I 

xl 

J) 

14.8l 

25 

12 

5 

9    ; 

13.52 

28 

u 

9      * 

r%  ( 

15.40 

27 

6 

i2*H 

17.07   ; 

.  j 

29 
31 

12 

3 

7 

13.99 

3.58 

30 

i 

/   4 
1    8 

4 

! 
12.78  | 

32 

ii 

(   6 

A  \ 
H* 

15.08 

33 

v    o 

8 

•?  «' 

8.08 

45 

;  1  9 

A) 

15-53 

34          \i 

flk 

A/ 

12.28 

49 

no   ! 

\  7  i 

7} 

15.95 

35             22 

7    ! 

18.07  ; 

m 

36          {   4 

ill 

A/ 

13.12 

52 

Ij 

I7.I8 

37             10 

10.62 

54 

10 

'5 

10.00 

38            15 

40                 20 

9 
I 

16.70 
21.29  \ 

41 

fio 

\    4 

15.09 

No.  of  cutters,  54. 

Total  wages,  $806.14.     Average  wages  for  week,  $14.93. 

Total  no.  gloves  cut,  793  dozen.  Average  for  week,  144-  dozen  per 
cutter. 

We  note  that  these  results  agree  substantially  with  the  state  reports 
quoted  on  pages  27-28. 

1  Wages  of  cutters  working  probably  eight  hours  per  day  on  grade  of 
gloves  competing  with  imported  gloves.  Piece  work,  all  table  cutters 
in  shop  included.  Week  ending  September  15,  1910. 

'Assisted  by  apprentice,  wages  of  apprentice  paid  by  cutter.  This 
table  is  a  copy  of  the  payroll  for  the  week  indicated,  and  is  a  fair  sample 
of  general  earnings  throughout  the  industry. 


INDUSTRIAL  ASPECTS  $1 

ularly  fortunate,  for  the  machines  are  power-driven  and 
constant  application  to  them  would  doubtless  prove  too 
great  a  strain  for  women  to  endure. 

TABLE  B  ' 
(MAKING  PRIXSEAM) 


0 

£ 

4B 

3 

rt 

i 

Dozen. 

I 

*rt 

OH 

u 

»2 

w^4 

&SJ 
|S 

6 
£ 

"«/> 

*-                  c 

S                         vi 
*«S                      M                      H 

111 

£ 

<nA 

t>   U 
bflO) 

$» 

IQI 

6 

10 

$7  86 

21  S                            72 

$8  2^ 

III 

2\ 

T  T      Q  A 

216  !         5 

fO«*4 

5-75 

192  

\  I 

J 

II.O4 

217...,                    Q                     i 

TO  64 

101 

II 

12  75 

218                    8                 •* 

9AO 

1  04 

1 

•a 

i^./i 

6  04 

2IQ                            A                       1 

•4v 
4  80 

IQ5... 

I 

i 

O  Q7 

220                '            7 

4-°y 
8  o? 

196  .  ..  . 

7 

7 

y-y/ 

8  72 

!22I                            Q                       I 

IO  45 

197  

A 

7 

4  60 

i  222                            7                       O 

1M«*K> 

8  91 

198  

2 

SO4 

22  ?                            8                       I 

O   7O 

199  

g 

8 

9O7 

224                            7 

y-ou 
8  oc 

200  

6 
u 

i 

7  oO 

•"**  / 
225                            7 

8O5 

201  

g 

g 

II   12 

226                     7 

8Oe 

202  

10 

9OI 
.Ul 

227                            6                       6 

7  48 

201... 

' 

6 

6  11 

228            :         4                ii 

5  65 

204  .. 

2 

7 

«oo 
8  72 

22O                            A                      8 

5>U3 
c    77 

205... 

§ 

II   12 

•*?y  

230           '        8               5 

9*68 

206  

I 

IO  45 

271                           1                   II 

4   en 

207  

II 

iu.^3 
e  6? 

212  .                        4                     II 

4OU 
c  65 

208  

7 

II 

910 

,  •*«?•*  

27^  ..88 

9O7 

209  

7 

8  o^ 

274...                      I           1 

TTC 

210  

10 

ii  08 

*W»" 
27C  T                        -I 

I  44 

211 

S1 

8  ai 

276                                     A                               1 

A  80 

212  

10  ^^ 

•*o'J  4                      J 
277...                     ? 

4-°y 

57C 

213  

IO 

11.88 

278...                                            ^ 

1  07 

214... 

IO 

ii  88 

Total  wages  for  each  week,  $382.94.     Average  for  week,  $7.94. 
Total  number  of  makers,  48. 

Total  number  gloves  made,  332  dozen,  10  pairs.     Average,  7  dozen. 
These  averages  are  slightly  below  those  given  in  state  reports  quoted 
on  pages  27-28. 

1 A  representative  week  for  workers  in  regular  shops  on  grade  of 
men's  gloves  that  compete  with  imported  gloves.  (Week  ending 
August  3,  1911.) 


32  THE  LEATHER  GLOVE  INDUSTRY 

On  page  27  we  quoted  the  amount  of  women's  pay 
from  the  State  report.  In  table  B  we  give  the  actual 
pay  for  makers  working  under  factory  conditions. 
From  these  tables  it  may  be  seen  that  wages  for  full- 
time  workers  are  from  $10  to  $12  per  week.  It  is  not  at 
all  uncommon  to  hear  of  an  individual  maker  who  for  a 
short  period  may  maintain  an  average  of  three  dollars 
per  day.  These  periods  of  high  production,  however, 
are  usually  followed  by  corresponding  times  of  low  pro- 
duction or  even  by  an  entire  cessation  of  work.  Hence 
it  is  not  the  object  of  the  manager  to  encourage  these 
sporadic  efforts  at  speed,  since  a  steady  average  will 
produce  better  results  in  the  long  run. 

A  large  marginal  labor  element  is  found  in  the  making 
branch  of  the  industry,  for  many  women  make  gloves  for 
"  pin  money."  There  is  scarcely  a  family  of  the  middle 
or  lower  class  of  which  some  woman  member  does  not 
make  gloves.  In  a  large  number  of  cases,  particularly 
where  the  head  of  the  family  is  a  cutter,  this  is  made 
necessary  by  the  smallness  or  uncertainty  of  the  bread- 
winner's wages.  Thus  an  increase  in  the  cutter  s  pay 
would  automatically  cut  down  the  supply  of  makers,  and 
this  artificial  influence  added  to  the  natural  economic 
influence  has  much  to  do  with  the  disparity  between  the 
pay  of  men  and  women  in  the  glove  industry  and  the 
corresponding  ratio  in  other  industries* 

In  making  at  home  mothers  are  often  assisted  by  a 
small  child,  who  can  do  some  of  the  simpler  tasks,  such 
as  matching  the  smaller  pieces  with  their  corresponding 

1  The  condition  of  the  laboring  class  is  further  complicated  by  the  fact 
that  80  per  cent,  of  the  heads  of  families  in  Gloversville  have  equities  in 
the  houses  they  occupy,  thus  greatly  affecting  their  freedom  of  move- 
ment. So  long  as  the  whole  family  can  earn  a  living  total  they  will 
remain. 


INDUSTRIAL  ASPECTS  33 

backs  and  palms  from  which  they  have  been  separated 
during  the  process  of  silking.  The  matching  is  done  by 
means  of  the  numbers  put  on  by  the  cutters.  Children 
could  not  thus  assist  in  factories  under  the  Labor  Law. 

The  extent  to  which  the  wage-earners  of  Gloversville 
and  Johnstown  depend  upon  glove-making  for  employ- 
ment makes  the  welfare  of  the  community  depend  to  an 
unusual  degree  upon  the  prosperity  of  this  one  industry. 

If  we  leave  out  of  account  made-to-order  cities  like 
Gary,  the  industrial  situation  in  Fulton  County  may  well 
be  said  to  be  unique.  The  New  York  Slate  Department 
of  Labor  Report  for  1902  shows  that  in  1900  67.2  per 
cent,  of  the  value  of  manufactured  products  in  Glovers- 
ville was  gloves ;  47  per  cent,  of  the  manufactured 
products  of  Johnstown  was  gloves  ;  82  per  cent,  of 
wage  earners  of  Fulton  County  were  employed  in  gloves 
and  allied  trades ;  87.6  per  cent,  of  wage  earners  in 
Gloversville  were  thus  employed.  In  1900  also  the 
value  of  the  gloves  produced  in  Fulton  County  was 
$9,458,603  or  57.1  per  cent,  of  the  total  for  the  United 
States.1 

From  the  foregoing  facts  it  appears  that  the  labor 
problems  of  Fulton  County  are  almost  entirely  those 
of  the  glove  industry.  In  the  summer  of  1910  one 
manufacturer  was  reported  to  have  on  hand  420,000 
dozen  of  gloves  cut  and  not  made.  Another  large 
manufacturer  discharged  half  of  his  cutting  force  and 
limited  the  remaining  half  to  twelve  dozen  per  week. 
The  supply  of  makers,  on  the  other  hand,  is  never  equal 
to  the  demand.  For  this  reason  many  efforts  have  been 
made  by  individual  manufacturers  and  the  Manufacturers' 

lThe  value  of  gloves  produced  in  New  York  City  was  $586,061; 
Buffalo,  $106,000;  Syracuse,  $56,434;  Binghamton,  $36,263. 


34 


THE  LEATHER  GLOVE  INDUSTRY 


Association  to  increase  the  supply  of  makers.  The 
Gloversville  Board  of  Trade,  controlled  by  glove  manu- 
facturers, constantly  seeks  to  increase  the  number  of 
families  in  the  city,  but  by  a  strange  contrast  they  are 
said  to  oppose  the  existence  of  any  other  industry  than 
glove  making  and  skin  dressing.  It  is  alleged  that 
efforts  are  made  to  keep  out  other  lines  of  employment 
to  avoid  the  possible  competition  for  men's  labor. 
Gloversville  is  situated  upon  a  branch  railroad.  The 
unfavorable  freight  facilities  have  much  to  do  with  this 
situation.  The  materials  for  glove  making  are  so  light 
as  not  to  be  seriously  affected  by  high  carriage  charges. 

One  of  the  interesting  efforts  to  increase  the  making 
force  was  the  establishment  in  November,  1909,  of  an 
industrial  department  in  the  Gloversville  High  School  to 
teach  glove  making.  No  official  report  has  yet  been 
issued.  In  the  absence  of  such  a  report  the  writer  made 
a  personal  inspection  of  the  plant.  A  well-lighted  base- 
ment room  was  fitted  with  a  power  table  and  sixteen 
machines  of  standard  type. 

The  class  that  was  working  was  composed  of  thirteen 
boys  and  two  girls  in  all  stages  of  progress.  The 
director  is  a  woman  who  had  had  practical  experience 
as  a  teacher  of  beginners  in  the  shops.  It  was  interest- 
ing to  watch  the  development  of  the  pupils  in  various 
stages. 

Practically  all  classes  of  the  population  were  repre- 
sented. German,  Italian,  American  and  among  the  rest 
the  son  of  a  leading  politician.  One  of  the  most  notable 
facts  in  connection  with  this  school-shop  is  the  fact  that 
boys  are  engaged  in  making.  They  are  being  trained 
with  a  view  to  developing  more  careful  businessmen  for 
the  industry.  Many  attempts  have  been  made  in  the 
past  to  train  boys  at  a  later  age  and  also  to  train  men 


INDUSTRIAL  ASPECTS  35 

to  take  up  making,  but  the  nimbleness  of  fingers  seems 
to  be  lacking  and  there  is  a  general  feeling  on  the  part 
of  boys  that  making  is  "women's  work."  Some  of  the 
far-sighted  men  in  the  industry  realize  that  to  maintain 
a  normal  and  balanced  community  the  superiority  of 
men's  earning  power  must  be  established  or,  at  least, 
ways  must  be  found  to  enable  a  man  in  the  industry  to 
earn  wages  sufficient  to  maintain  a  family  without  the 
necessity  for  the  assistance  of  his  wife  or  children  of 
school  age.  These  men  look  forward  with  hope  to  the 
educating  influence  of  the  industrial  department  of  the 
public  school. 

Changes  are  going  on  slowly  in  the  methods  of  manu- 
facture and  factory  organization.  The  complaint  was 
constantly  made  in  the  older  days  that  the  manufacture 
was  all  guesswork.  A  fine  scorn  was  shown  for  accu- 
rate cost  accounting.  The  manufacturer  then  was  his 
own  foreman,  and  if  the  shop  were  not  in  his  own  back- 
yard he  sat  down  on  the  block  with  his  dinner-pail  and 
visited  with  the  men  as  they  all  ate  together. 

A  study  of  the  census  figures  shows  that  in  1905  the 
number  of  factories  was  less  than  in  1900.  This  is  largely 
due  to  the  introduction  of  machinery  in  some  of  the  less 
skilled  branches.  For  example,  a  machine  has  been  in- 
vented for  shaving  or  grinding  the  skins.  This  machine 
reduces  the  cost  of  the  process  from  $i  per  dozen  skins 
to  $0.083^.  Again,  the  cutting  of  linings  for  some  of 
the  cheaper  grades  of  children's  gloves  cost  the  smaller 
manufacturer  in  earlier  times  about  $0.06  per  dozen  pairs 
of  gloves.  The  modern  manufacturer  uses  a  machine 
which  reduces  the  cost  to  $o.oi^i  per  dozen  pairs.  Each 
of  the  large  manufacturers  employs  a  statistical  expert  to 
check  cost  accounting.  The  closeness  of  the  computa- 
tion is  shown  by  the  bids  for  some  of  the  army  contracts, 


36  THE  LEATHER  GLOVE  INDUSTRY 

where  the  prices  of  the  various  competitors  sometimes 
differ  as  little  as  two  cents  per  pair.  There  yet  remain 
factories  that  produce  at  a  disadvantage.  Their  presence 
is  on  the  whole  detrimental  to  the  industry  because  they 
must  cover  inefficient  methods  largely  by  reducing  wages 
below  the  rate  established  by  the  Manufacturers'  Associ- 
ation. Efficiency  and  organization  throughout  the  whole 
industry  is  not  so  high  as  we  have  a  right  to  expect  it  to 
be  in  a  protected  industry. 

LABOR  ORGANIZATION 

Records  of  union  organization  in  Fulton  County,  New 
York,  are  very  hard  to  obtain.  In  the  Manufacturers1 
Brief  submitted  to  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  (p. 
12)  the  statement  is  made  that  there  exists  no  union  in 
the  industry  or  any  combination  of  manufacturers  to 
control  the  price  of  the  product.  The  New  York  State 
Department  of  Labor  Reports,  however,  contain  returns 
from  the  Table  Cutters'  Union. '  This  fact  will  be  ex- 
plained later  in  the  present  chapter. 

It  is  true  that  the  Manufacturers  Association  does 
not  approve  of  the  existence  of  a  labor  union.  It  is 
their  fiat  that  there  shall  not  be  one,  and  as  a  conse- 
quence the  men  will  not  admit  membership  in  the  union 
or  talk  about  labor  conditions.  Hence  most  of  the  in- 
formation must  be  got  from  outside  sources.  But  in  a 
city  as  small  as  Gloversville,  where  the  welfare  of  all 
business  is  so  intimately  connected  with  a  single  indus- 
try, information  as  to  the  conditions  of  that  industry  is 
pretty  generally  distributed.  And  by  comparison  it  is 
found  that  the  various  reports  agree  in  substance. 

The  earliest  record  is  that  as  a  part  of  the  Knights  of 

1 M  Y.  State  Department  of  Labor  Report,  1908,  p.  116. 


INDUSTRIAL  ASPECTS  37 

Labor  movement  a  strike  was  declared  in  1881  for  cash 
payments.  The  strike  was  won  by  the  men  and  no 
further  activity  was,  shown  until  1893  when,  in  anticipa- 
tion of  the  Wilson  Tariff,  the  manufacturers  announced 
a  cut  in  wages  from  $0.90  per  dozen  pairs  to  $0.80  per 
dozen  pairs  for  cutting  standard  grades  of  gloves.  In 
the  face  of  the  explanation  that  the  reduced  Tariff  made 
the  cut  necessary,  the  men  accepted  the  new  rate,  but 
began  to  organize  their  union  on  a  fighting  basis. 

No  further  change  occurred  until  September,  1897, 
when  after  the  passage  of  the  Dingley  Tariff,  a  demand 
was  made  by  the  cutters  for  the  restoration  of  the  rate 
of  $0.90  per  dozen,  in  existence  before  the  cut  of  1893. 
At  this  time  the  rate  for  cutting  was  agreed  upon  by  an 
annual  conference  between  the  representatives  of  the 
Manufacturers  and  the  International  Glove  Table  Cutters' 
Union.  The  Manufacturers  refused  to  make  the  advance 
and  a  strike  was  declared,  which  lasted  eleven  weeks. 
A  compromise  was  finally  reached  at  an  advance  of  10 
per  cent,  or  $0.88.  Here  we  see  a  saving  of  two  cents 
per  dozen  resulting  to  the  manufacturers  as  the  net 
result  of  the  two  changes  extending  over  a  period  of 
four  years. 

The  annual  conference  agreement  remained  in  force 
whereby  the  manufacturers  continued  to  treat  with  the 
cutters  as  a  unit  until  the  fall  of  1903.  Then  a  demand 
was  made  that  the  men  individually  sign  an  agreement 
to  work  with  any  one  who  might  be  put  into  the  shops. 
Of  course  this  meant  the  ultimate  overthrow  of  the 
union  and  the  establishment  of  the  open  shop.  The 
practical  success  of  the  strike  of  1897  and  the  final  effect 
of  the  terms  of  the  proposed  agreement,  persuaded  the 
cutters  to  resist.  Moreover,  it  was  generally  thought 
that  the  real  purpose  of  the  manufacturers  was  to  abro- 


38  THE  LEATHER  GLOVE  INDUSTRY 

gate  the  existing  agreement  so  far  as  to  enable  them  to 
employ  Russian  cutters  who  were  being  driven  out  of 
Warsaw  about  that  time. 

The  importance  of  this  demand  further  illustrated  by 
the  fact  that  in  1901  an  action  had  been  brought  at  the 
instigation  of  the  International  Glove  Cutters,  to  recover 
a  penalty  from  a  firm  of  glove  manufacturers  in  Grinnell, 
Iowa,1  under  the  contract  labor  law.  So  important  is 
this  case  in  its  effect  upon  the  relation  of  laborers  and 
manufacturers  in  the  industry  that  an  extract  from  the 
opinion  in  the  case  is  worthy  of  attention. 

United  States  v.  Morrison,  109  Fed.  Reporter  891, 

(Dist.  Court,  S.  D.,  Iowa  C.  D.  May  14,  1901.) 

On  demurrer  to  Information. 

The  information  filed  is  in  two  counts.  The  first  count  in 
substance  charges  that  defendant  a  resident  of  Grinnell,  Iowa, 
did  in  June  1900  aid  in  bringing-  from  Prague,  Austria  one 
Adolph  Zuza,  a  cutter  of  ladies  kid  gloves,  who  was  then  a 
native,  resident  and  citizen  of  Prague,  Austria,  and  then  a 
subject  to  the  Emperor  of  Austria. 

The  information  further  charges  that  while  Zuza  was  to 
perform  labor  in  this  country,  and  under  which  agreement 
Zuza  came  to  the  U.  S.  with  money  furnished  him  by  the 
defendant  for  his  transportation,  that  the  agreement  preceded 
furnishing  the  aid  and  preceeded  Zuza's  coming  to  America 
pursuant  to  the  agreement,  and  after  having  received  the  aid 
in  transportation  from  the  defendant  to  perform  in  the  U.  S. 
the  services  and  labor  of  cutting  ladies'  kid  gloves  and  the 
information  then  changes. 

"  And  the  said  Adolph  Zuza  was  not  .  .  .  then  and  there  a 
skilled  workman  under  any  contract  and  agreement  to  per- 
form labor  and  services  in  the  United  States  in  or  upon  any 

'U.  S.  v.  D.  S.  Morrison,  U.  S.  Dist.  Court,  Des  Moines,  unre- 
ported  case. 


INDUSTRIAL  ASPECTS 


39 


industry  not  then  established  in  the  United  States,  and  not 
established  in  the  U.  S.,  February  26,  A.  D.,  1885." 

The  grounds  for  the  demurrer  are  that  a  ladies'  kid  glove 
cutter  is  an  expert  mechanic  ;  that  he  is  not  a  person  engaged 
in  common  or  ordinary  labor ;  that  the  business  requires 
skill,  that  Feb.  26,  1885,  the  business  of  making  ladies'  kid 
gloves  was  not  an  established  industry  in  the  U.  S.;  that  the 
trade  of  a  ladies'  kid  glove  cutter  requires  skill  and  intelli- 
gence and  is  an  art  or  profession  known  to  but  very  few 
persons  in  the  world.  The  count  then  recites  the  history  of 
the  Contract  Labor  Law  and  continues.  But  the  truth  is  that 
the  protective  Tariff  laws  and  the  laws  against  importing  an 
alien  laborer  are  upon  the  same  subject  and  have  the  same 
purpose  in  view,  which  is  that  of  protecting  the  laboring  man 
of  our  country  from  the  competition  of  the  laboring  man  of 
foreign  lands.  And  the  subject  of  "  kid  gloves  "  as  it  is  found 
in  the  schedules  of  the  last  formed  tariff  laws  of  the  United 
States,  will  show  the  ever-increasing  concern  of  congress  to 
not  simply  raise  a  revenue,  but  to  bring  about  the  manu- 
facture of  such  gloves  in  this  country. 

The  practical  effect  of  all  this  and  especially  the  result  of 
the  tariff  act  of  1897  is  of  great  interest.  But  so  far  as  this 
case  is  concerned  the  difficulty  is  not  to  get  the  information 
but  to  get  information  of  which  a  court  will  take  judicial 
notice,  ...  I  have  made  the  most  diligent  and  tireless  search 
in  the  reports  of  the  departments  for  data  and  facts  germane 
to  the  imports  of  ladies'  gloves,  and  the  manufacturer  thereof 
in  this  country  and  received  practically  no  information.  It 
is  plain  to  me  that  the  tariff  laws,  and  especially  the  one  now 
in  force  had  for  one  of  its  objects  either  the  creation  of  the 
industry,  if  not  already  established,  or  its  maintenance  if 
already  established.  And  this  perhaps  is  the  one  question  in 
this  case  ;  Is  the  manufacture  of  ladies'  kid  gloves  an  estab- 
lished business  in  the  U.  S.?  If  established,  when  was  it 
established? 

But  the  U.  S.  Attorney  charges  in  the  information  and 
charges  it  most  specifically  that  February  26,  1885,  as  well  as 


40  THE  LEATHER  GLOVE  INDUSTRY 

in  the  year  1890,  the  manufacture  of  ladies'  kid  gloves  was 
an  established  industry  in  the  United  States.  This  allegation 
calls  for  proof  and  the  government  must  furnish  it.  And  it 
follows  that  the  demurrer  must  be  overruled  because  of  the 
allegations  in  the  information.  I  have  a  belief  touching  them, 
but  it  may  be  that  the  government  will  furnish  evidence,  of 
which  I  know  nothing ;  at  all  events  I  cannot  judicially 
notice  the  facts,  and  the  material  facts  are  practically  all  in 
dispute.  What  are  the  duties  of  a  ladies'  glove  cutter  ?  Is  it 
skilled  labor  ?  Can  it  readily  be  procured  in  this  country  ? 
Is  it  an  occupation  or  profession?  Is  it  an  established  busi- 
ness in  this  country?  If  so,  when  was  it  established?  Some 
of  these  questions,  probably  all,  are  involved.  So  I  will  sub- 
mit the  facts  to  the  jury  to  find  the  facts.  We  will  then  know 
the  services  of  a  ladies'  glove  cutter ;  ...  we  will  learn  how 
extensively  ladies'  kid  gloves  were  manufactured  in  the  United 
States,  February  26,  1885,  and  how  extensively  they  were 
manufactured  in  1890  ;  we  will  ascertain  whether  it  is  true 
that  there  are  but  few  such  cutters  in  the  United  States,  and 
possible  but  the  one,  or  but  few  at  most,  of  such  west  of  the 
Mississippi  river,  and  but  few  in  the  country;  ...  we  will 
learn  the  truth  of  this  and  the  statute  will  be  construed  so  as 
to  give  aid  to  the  American  laborers  and  not  such  construction 
as  to  throw  them  out  of  employment. 

In  the  hearing  upon  the  case  for  the  determination  of 
the  facts  referred  to,  part  of  the  evidence  submitted  con- 
sisted of  the  files  of  the  Gloversville  newspapers,  contain- 
ing advertisements  for  cutters.  The  decision  held  that 
these  advertisements  were  sufficient  to  show  a  need  for 
more  men  in  the  industry  in  the  United  States,  and  that 
the  testimony  tended  to  show  that  the  International 
Glove  Cutters'  Union  was  a  closed  corporation,  since  by 
its  rules  the  trade  could  only  go  from  father  to  son. 
Therefore  recovery  could  not  be  made,  and  importation 
of  cutters  under  contract  could  not  be  stopped.  The 


INDUSTRIAL  ASPECTS  4I 

cutters  maintained  that  there  never  were  any  places  open, 
that  the  advertisements  had  been  run  for  the  purpose  of 
making  ^prima  facie  case  under  just  such  circumstances. 
However  this  may  be,  the  decision  referred  to,  together 
with  the  coming  of  the  Russian  cutters,  no  doubt  had 
much  to  do  with  the  demand  of  the  manufacturers  at  this 
time. 

On  December  21,  1903,  the  men  decided  to  strike. 
The  struggle  lasted  until  June  28,  1904.  A  few  shops 
ran  all  through  the  strike,  but  the  industry  was  prac- 
tically crippled.  The  Union  was  beaten  and  broken. 
Since  that  time  all  but  a  few  small  shops  have  been  run 
on  the  open-shop  basis. 

About  1907  the  union  referred  to  at  the  beginning  of 
this  chapter,  and  reported  in  the  New  York  State  Re- 
ports, was  formed.  It  may  more  properly  be  called  a 
philosophical  union  than  anything  else,  so  the  statement 
of  the  manufacturers  to  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee 
may  be  said  to  be  true  in  substance. 

The  contrast  between  the  apparent  intent  of  the  deci- 
sion quoted  and  its  effect  upon  the  industry  is  clearly 
evident  from  the  consequences  which  have  followed  the 
decision.  Curiously  enough  the  majority  of  the  men  in 
the  Cutters'  Union  in  1907  were  those  admitted  to  the 
United  States  as  a  result  of  this  decision.  They  were 
used  as  instruments  to  break  the  earlier  union  and  are 
now  the  nucleus  of  the  existing  union. 

Reference  is  here  made  only  to  the  Glove  Cutters' 
Union.  There  has  never  been  a  union  among  makers  in 
Fulton  County.  This  is  undoubtedly  due  to  the  fact 
which  we  have  already  noted,  that  the  supply  of  makers 
is  far  below  the  demand  at  all  times.  The  natural  result 
is  a  correspondingly  favorable  treatment  of  makers  and 
relatively  high  pay.  The  rates  are  assumed  to  be  uni- 


42  THE  LEATHER  GLOVE  INDUSTRY 

form,  but  undoubtedly  even  in  the  face  of  disapproval  on 
the  part  of  the  Manufacturers'  Association  special  rates 
may  secretly  be  extended  to  specially  skilled  sewers. 

THE  MANUFACTURERS'  ASSOCIATION 

The  existence  of  a  strong  organization  in  the  labor 
field  of  any  industry  implies  that  sooner  or  later  there 
must  be  an  equally  strong  association  of  manufacturers, 
otherwise  the  labor  force  by  piecemeal  attack  will  event- 
ually drive  out  profits. 

This  is  the  case  in  the  glove  industry.  The  early 
associations,  both  of  cutters  and  manufacturers,  were  not 
strong,  but  following  the  strikes  of  1897  the  Interna- 
tional Glove  Cutters'  Union  grew  to  such  power  that  an 
association  of  manufacturers  was  formed  to  resist  the 
demands  of  the  cutters.  This  organization  is  in  exist- 
ence to-day,  and  to  it  may  be  traced  many  of  the  real 
advances  that  have  come  to  the  industry.  The  present 
association  was  organized  in  1902  under  the  voluntary 
associations  law  of  New  York  State.1  It  is  an  unincor- 
porated body. 

The  membership  in  the  association  while  not  restricted 
to,  is  in  fact  confined  to,  manufacturers  in  Gloversville 
and  Johnstown  who  make  chiefly  fine  dress  gloves.  Al- 
though its  membership  in  point  of  volume  of  production 
of  fine  gloves  represents  about  50  per  cent,  in  numbers 
of  manufacturers  it  includes  not  more  than  20  per  cent, 
or  about  thirty  members.  Membership  is  by  firms,  not 
by  individuals. 

The  first  real  problem  of  the  association  was  the  strike 
of  1903,  and  it  proved  a  severe  test  to  the  organization. 
We  have  pointed  out  that  the  Cutters'  Union  having 

'Mr.  James  Warbasse,  Secretary  Glove  Manufacturers'  Association. 


INDUSTRIAL  ASPECTS  43 

won  the  strike  of  1897  had  grown  in  strength.  The  first 
point  of  attack  by  the  union  had  been  the  suit  previously 
mentioned,  to  prevent  the  importation  or  employment  of 
any  cutters  not  members  of  the  union.  Encouraged  by 
the  decision,  in  this  case  favorably  to  the  manufacturers, 
the  Association  decided  to  force  matters,  with  the  result 
that  they  broke  the  union  and  have  maintained  an  open- 
shop  basis  since  that  time.  There  is  only  one  small 
union  shop  in  Fulton  County. 

The  general  trend  of  the  efforts  of  the  association  has 
been  for  the  improvement  of  the  industry  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  higher  plane  of  efficiency.  The  uniform 
rate  of  pay  has  had  a  tendency  to  prevent  constant  shift- 
ing about  of  the  cutters.  It  has  not  been  quite  so  suc- 
cessful in  the  case  of  makers.  Another  point  that  must 
not  be  overlooked  is  that  the  association  makes  for 
standardization  of  output  and  reliability  of  goods.  In 
this  it  reminds  us  of  the  strict  regulations  as  to  quality 
which  were  in  force  in  the  Scotish  guilds  of  glove 
makers. 

So  far  as  the  association  has  assisted  in  keeping  down 
the  wages  of  men,  and  in  this  the  open  shop  probably  is 
the  only  definite  step,  the  effect  has  been  on  the  whole 
bad  for  the  trade  because  the  low  average  wages  paid  to 
cutters  is  already  having  its  effect  upon  the  supply  of 
cutters  which  hitherto  has  equaled  or  exceeded  the 
demand.  Boys  will  not  take  up  a  trade  with  so  little 
certainty  and  promise.  During  the  summer  of  1912 
reports  began  to  be  current  of  an  actual  shortage  of 
cutters.  In  time  this  must  act  to  force  up  wages  but 
only  if  some  degree  of  certainty  can  be  established  in 
the  industry. 

In  matters  outside  of  the  manufacture  proper  the 
association  has  been  active.  In  the  legislative  steps 


44  THE  LEATHER  GLOVE  INDUSTRY 

leading  up  to  the  Payne-Aldrich  Tariff  act  the  association 
played  a  prominent  part  as  shown  by  the  hearings  of  the 
Ways  and  Means  Committee.1  The  real  future  of  the 
industry  is  along  the  line  of  permanent  settling  of  the 
Tariff  and  strengthening  of  the  Manufacturers  Associa- 
tion which  will  then  be  able  to  devote  its  attention  to 
building  up  the  industry  from  within. 

FACTORY    DISTRIBUTION 

There  is  practically  no  such  thing  in  the  glove  industry 
as  a  factory  district  in  the  usual  sense  of  the  term,  and 
no  necessity  for  the  development  of  a  sweat-shop  district 
or  plan  of  manufacture.  Factories  are  located  in  widely- 
scattered  parts  of  the  cities  and  in  the  majority  of  cases 
have  plenty  of  air  and  light.  This  scattered  distribution 
has  its  influence  upon  the  health  and  the  whole  life  of 
the  community.  Little  stores  are  situated  at  intervals 
along  all  the  residence  streets,  and  bakers'  wagons  go 
about  announcing  their  coming  by  the  ringing  of  a  bell. 
So  busy  are  most  of  the  housekeepers  that  they  will  not 
take  time  to  go  to  a  common  shopping  or  marketing 
center.  The  doorbell  is  often  answered  by  a  woman  with 
an  unfinished  glove  in  her  hand.  A  great  amount  of 
work  is  sent  into  the  homes  of  the  workers.  This  is 
easy  because  of  the  lightness  of  the  goods  and  their  small 
bulk.  Occasionally  one  sees  a  small  boy  carrying  a 
bundle  of  unfinished  or  finished  gloves  to  or  from  the 
factory,  but  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  distributing  is 
done  by  the  agents  of  the  manufacturer,  who  go  about 
in  a  wagon  or  automobile.  The  distribution  is  really 
done  at  the  expense  of  the  makers,  for  a  lower  price  is 
paid  for  some  work  done  out  of  the  factory  than  is  paid 

1  Tariff  Hearings,  Nov.  28,  1908. 


INDUSTRIAL  ASPECTS  45 

for  the  same  grade  of  work  done  in  the  factory.1  We 
must  keep  in  mind  also  that  in  most  cases  factory  makers 
are  compelled  to  furnish  their  own  machines  and  to  pay 
for  repairs  upon  them. 

Through  the  courtesy  of  one  of  the  manufacturers  the 
writer  was  permitted  to  accompany  his  agent  in  his 
rounds  and  covered  in  the  course  of  a  forenoon  most  of 
the  streets  of  Gloversville.  The  driver,  who  has  had  six- 
teen years'  experience  in  that  particular  business,  states 
that  practically  every  street  in  the  city  has  some  houses 
where  glove  making  in  some  of  its  branches  is  done. 
The  power  wires  running  from  poles  in  the  street  to  the 
houses  also  corroborate  this  statement. 

The  Fulton  County  Gas  and  Electric  Company  re- 
ported in  1910  that  they  had  1000  motors  in  private 
houses  or  small  privately-owned  buildings,  for  use  in 
driving  sewing  machines.  The  number  given  includes 
both  Gloversville  and  Johnstown.  In  1911  the  same 
company  reported  that  the  number  had  risen  to  1300. 
Upon  a  rough  estimate  this  number  would  represent  an 
average  of  one  motor  in  every  four  or  five  houses.  Some 
families  have  more  than  one,  so  the  actual  number  of 
dwellings  wired  for  power  would  be  a  little  below  the 
average  of  one  in  five.  A  standing  charge  of  fifty  cents 
per  month  is  made  for  installing  the  motors  and  the  total 
cost  is  about  $1.20  to  $1.50  per  month.  The  extended 
use  of  motors  in  this  way  is  one  of  the  most  significant 
facts  of  the  industry.  Some  home  operators  report  that 
the  use  of  the  motor- driven  machine  increases  their  out- 
put by  one  dozen  pairs  per  day.  Judged  by  factory 
standards  of  production  this  estimate  seems  rather  high, 

it  may  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  in  home  work 

'See  Appendix  I. 


46  THE  LEATHER  GLOVE  INDUSTRY 

hours  are  not  limited  as  in  the  factory.  This  industry, 
through  the  peculiar  system  of  putting  out  gloves,  forms 
an  interesting  link  between  industry  and  agriculture, 
enabling  workers  to  live  at  great  distances  from  the  fac- 
tory, where  they  can  have  gardens  and  plenty  of  room. 
The  increased  use  of  electric  power,  although  holding 
possibilities  of  increased  nervous  strain,  yet  offers  great 
physical  relief  and  makes  possible  the  use  of  the  many 
small  water  powers  in  which  the  foot-hills  of  the  Adiron- 
dacks  abound.  The  limits  of  the  industry  may  also  be 
greatly  extended  by  the  use  of  the  automobile  for  col- 
lecting and  distributing  gloves,  and  the  establishment  of 
the  parcel  post  may  do  much  in  this  direction. 


CHAPTER   VI 
TARIFFS. 

IN  the  preceding  chapters  we  have  made  a  brief  study 
of  the  history,  organization,  wages  and  labor  conditions, 
of  the  glove  industry.  It  is  the  purpose  of  this  chapter 
to  ascertain  the  exact  bearing  of  the  tariff  rate  upon  the 
industry. 

The  vital  questions  are :  First,  who  are  the  persons  or 
classes  effected  by  the  tariff?  Second,  can  the  industry 
exist  without  the  tariff?  And  third,  what  facts  should 
determine  the  rate  of  tariff? 

In  answer  to  the  second  question  we  may  quote  from 
the  Argument  of  the  Manufacturers'  Association  before 
the  Ways  and  Means  Committee.  "  Before  the  McKinley 
Act  of  1890  there  was  no  glove  industry  in  the  United 
States  competing  in  our  markets  with  foreign  made 
gloves."1 

Previous  to  1890  the  rate  of  duty  on  men's  fine  gloves 
was  50  per  cent,  ad  valorem.  Much  litigation  resulted 
upon  charges  of  undervaluation  and  from  the  adminis- 
trative point  of  view  the  ad  valorem  rate  was  not  satis- 
factory. Hence  in  framing  the  McKinley  law  the  rate 
was  made  50  per  cent,  plus  $1.00  per  dozen  pairs.  This 
rate  also  proved  unsatisfactory  and  in  1894  the  rate  was 
made  entirely  specific  and  fixed  at  $4  per  dozen  pairs. 
The  Dingley  law  in  1897  left  the  rate  on  men's  gloves 
unchanged.  The  rate  as  fixed  on  men's  gloves  in  1909 

'See  Appendix  III. 

47 


48  THE  LEATHER  GLOVE  INDUSTRY 

is  also  $4  per  dozen  pairs.  Certain  cumulative  items 
may  bring  the  total  up  to  $4.80  per  dozen  pairs.1 

This  means  that  for  every  pair  of  men's  gloves  made 
in  the  United  States  or  imported  to  the  United  States 
the  wearer  may  be  forced  to  pay  thirty  to  forty  cents 
extra  because  of  the  tariff.  In  fact  the  testimony  of  the 
Manufacturers'  representative  before  the  Ways  and  Means 
Committee  shows  this  to  be  true.2 

On  women's  gloves  the  duty  under  the  present  law  is 
from  $1.25  to  $2.50  per  dozen  pairs. 

The  explanation  of  this  difference  between  the  rates 
on  men's  and  women's  gloves  brings  out  a  curious  state 
of  affairs.  According  to  Mr.  Frederick  Brooks,  who 
appeared  before  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee,  as 
counsel  for  the  importers,  the  question  of  the  tariff  rate 
on  gloves  had  been  considered  ever  since  1890  as  settled 
upon  a  basis  of  division  of  the  field.  By  this  actual  or 
tacit  agreement,  the  importers  were  given  control  of  the 
market  in  ladies'  gloves,  while  the  men's  glove  business 
was  left  to  the  domestic  producers.3 

The  effect  of  the  difference  in  rate  is  shown  by  a  study 
of  the  percentage  of  production  of  the  two  kinds  of 
gloves  in  the  United  States.  About  95  per  cent,  of  the 
men's  fine  gloves  used  in  the  United  States  are  made 
here  while  only  about  5  per  cent,  or  6  per  cent,  of  the 
women's  gloves  used  in  the  United  States  are  made 
here.4  Two  factors  are  found  here,  however,  one  the 
larger  profit  on  men's  gloves  and  the  other  the  smallness 
of  the  trained  labor  force.  The  latter  fact  was  brought 
out  in  the  preceding  chapter. 

*See  Tariff  Law,  Appendix  IX. 
1  Tariff  Hearings,  Nov.  28,  1908. 

8  This  statement  does  not  appear  in  the  Hearings,  but  was  made  to 
the  writer  by  Mr.  Brooks  in  an  intervie^w.      ^ 
4  Tariff  Hearings,  Nov.  28,  1908,  pp/-S5i3  seq. 


TARIFFS  49 

Clearly,  then,  the  admitted  increase  of  selling  price  of 
men's  gloves  entitles  the  public  to  know  the  facts  upon 
which  are  based  the  tariff  rate  making  the  increase 
possible. 

The  manufacturer  argues  that  he  does  not  get  the  in- 
crease, that  it  is  just  sufficient  to  cover  the  difference  in 
cost  of  production  in  American  and  European  glove-pro- 
ducing centers.  Our  problem  now  is  to  trace  this  tax 
to  its  point  of  incidence. 

To  answer  our  first  question  we  must  first  lay  down 
some  principles  by  which  to  test  the  tax.  Three  groups 
must  be  considered:  the  laborers,  the  manufacturers, 
and  the  consuming  public.  The  first  two  classes  are  to 
a  degree  identical  with  the  third  class,  but  the  degree  is 
so  slight  that  we  may  say  they  are  mutually  exclusive. 

To  the  laborer  the  question  of  importance  in  a  tariff 
rate  is  the  question  as  to  whether  the  rate  is  sufficient 
to  enable  him  to  collect  wages  to  cover  the  cost  of  liv- 
ing according  to  the  standard  of  his  own  country. 

To  the  manufacturer  it  is  important  to  have  tariff 
high  enough  to  enable  him  to  pay  a  rate  of  wages  suffi- 
iently  high  to  attract  laborers  from  the  competing  trades 
of  his  own  country  and  leave  a  margin  for  a  reasonable 
profit.  In  considering  the  rate  upon  a  single  product 
the  question  of  the  equivalence  between  the  wages  of  the 
workers  in  the  foreign  and  domestic  fields  is  of  less 
immediate  importance  than  the  relative  rates  of  pay  in 
the  given  industry  and  in  other  domestic  industries 
demanding  labor  of  the  same  grade. 

The  consumer  appears  to  be  the  person  upon  whom 
the  benefits  are  last  conferred  but  upon  whom  the 
burden  falls  immediately  in  the  form  of  an  increased 
price.  The  weight  of  the  burden  in  the  glove  industry 
has  been  indicated  in  paragraph  5  of  this  chapter. 


50  THE  LEATHER  GLOVE  INDUSTRY 

So  long  as  the  manufacturer  conducts  his  business 
upon  a  purely  individual  basis  and  does  not  ask  for  help 
from  the  public  in  the  form  of  tariff  restriction,  we  may 
fairly  say  he  is  entitled  to  secrecy  in  his  business  and  the 
profits  which  he  may  make  from  it;  but  as  soon  as  he 
asks  for  a  protective  rate,  the  burden  of  which  falls  upon 
the  consumer,  the  public  is  entitled  to  such  information 
concerning  his  business  as  will  enable  its  agents  to  place 
the  rate  at  the  lowest  possible  point. 

This  investigation  should  always  keep  in  mind  the 
bearing  of  the  determination  upon  the  laborers  in  the 
industry  as  well  as  upon  the  general  public. 

As  stated  in  the  introduction,  the  glove  industry 
presents  a  striking  example  of  the  relation  between 
economic  theory  and  practical  politics.  Before  the  Ways 
and  Means  Committee  on  November  28,  1908,'  there 
appeared  representatives  of  the  importers  of  gloves  and 
also  a  representative  of  the  Glove  Manufacturers'  As- 
sociation of  the  United  States.  Though  the  consuming 
public  is  frequently  mentioned  in  the  discussion,  it  is 
rather  as  an  argument  for  one  side  or  the  other  side 
than  out  of  consideration  for  the  consumer  himself. 

To  settle  the  third  and  most  important  question  of 
this  chapter  we  must  examine  the  available  data  as  to 
wages  paid  in  the  glove  industry  in  the  United  States 
and  Europe.  For  the  purpose  of  determining  the  basis 
of  a  tariff  rate  the  glove  industry  offers  some  advantages 
not  found  in  many  other  industries.  In  the  first  place 
nearly  all  of  the  processes  of  manufacture  are  paid  for  at 
piece  rates.  Hence  the  labor  cost  per  unit  of  product' 
can  be  found  directly  from  the  wages  paid.  In  the  sec- 

/^^J 
1  Tariff  Hearings,  Ways  and  Means  Com.,  Nov.  28,  1908.  p.' ,2516, 

seq. 

'The  unit  in  the  glove  industry  is  one  dozen  pairs. 


TARIFFS  -! 

ond  place  very  little  machinery  is  employed,  nearly  all  the 
processes  being  carried  on  by  hand.  In  the  third  place 
most  of  the  machinery  and  tools  used  in  the  American 
system  of  manufacture,  at  least,  is  owned  by  the  laborers, 
who  at  the  time  of  the  passage  of  the  Payne-Aldrich  law 
even  paid  charges  for  power  used  in  driving  such  of  them 
as  are  power-driven,  thus  relieving  the  manufacturer  of 
part  of  his  overhead  charges.  Hence  we  see  that  wages 
represent  practically  the  whole  manufacturing  cost. 

The  Bulletin  of  Information  for  the  Committee,  1908, 
shows  that  the  principal  sources  of  supply  for  imported 
gloves  are  England,  Germany  and  France.  The  fixing 
of  labor  cost  of  gloves  made  in  these  countries  is  a  diffi- 
cult process  as  compared  with  the  determination  of  sim- 
ilar costs  in  the  United  States.  The  wages  paid  in  the 
United  States  are  uniform,  and  are  fixed  by  the  Glove 
Manufacturers'  Association.1  Previous  to  1903,  while 
the  Glove  Cutters'  Association  was  strong,  the  rates 
were  fixed  by  conferences  of  representatives  of  the  man- 
ufacturers and  cutters,  but  at  present  there  is,  as  we 
have  shown,  no  effective  organization  of  cutters  with 
which  the  manufacturers  can  confer,  and  there  never  has 
been  an  organization  of  makers  in  Fulton  County. 
Hence  the  rates  cannot  represent  a  united  agreement. 

In  foreign  countries  there  is  no  organization  similar 
to  the  Glove  Manufacturers'  Association  of  the  United 
States.  No  general  figures  are  obtainable  for  English 
costs  nor  for  the  earnings  of  English  glove  workers. 
Two  affidavits  of  individual  makers  were  submitted  to 
the  Ways  and  Means  Committee,  but  no  attempt  is  made 
to  show  that  these  rates  are  representative  of  costs  all 
over  England,  and  furthermore  they  cover  only  a  single 

'See  Schedule,  Appendix  I. 


cj2  THE  LEATHER  GLOVE  INDUSTRY 

part  of  fabrication  cost.  Many  of  the  leading  English 
firms  maintain  factories  in  the  United  States  and  conse- 
quently are  in  a  position  to  furnish  the  complete  facts  if 
they  chose  to  do  so.  While  our  tariff  schedules  are 
made  upon  the  present  bases  they  will  simply  shift  the 
manufacture  for  their  trade  in  the  United  States  from 
one  country  to  the  other  as  the  rate  varies. 

In  the  case  of  German  manufacturing  costs  we  are 
somewhat  better  off  from  the  fact  that  figures  represent- 
ing cost  of  fabrication  were  submitted  to  the  Ways  and 
Means  Committee l  by  representatives  of  the  importers 
and  also  by  representatives  of  the  Glove  Manufacturers' 
Association  of  the  United  States.  The  German  Govern- 
ment also  submitted  certain  statements  which  are,  how- 
ever, merely  assertions  of  isolated  costs  and  are  not  shown 
to  be  representative.2  Hence  we  are  thrown  back  upon 
a  comparison  of  costs  as  estimated  by  the  importers  and 
manufacturers. 

It  is  readily  seen  that  the  tendency  of  each  advocate  in 
a  controversy  of  this  sort  will  be  to  represent  the  facts 
in  the  light  most  favorable  to  his  side.  This  does  not 
imply  bad  faith,  but  comes  from  the  fact  that  it  is  gen- 
erally understood  that  the  final  determination  will  in  all 
probability  be  a  compromise.  The  tendency  of  the  do- 
mestic manufacturer  will  be  to  underestimate  the  foreign 
cost  and  overestimate  his  own,  and  thus  secure  the  ben- 
efits of  an  overestimated  difference  in  cost.  In  the  same 
way  the  foreigner  will  overestimate  his  own  cost  to  get 
the  benefit  of  a  rate  fixed  upon  too  low  an  estimated  dif- 
ference. Consequently  when  we  find  an  estimate  of  the 


1  Tariff  Hfarings,  Nov.  28,  1908,  p.'-2523>  Sen.  Doc.  68,  6ist  Cong., 
p.  42;  Sen.  Doc.  74,  6ist  Cong. 

2 Senate  Document  68,  part  2,  6ist  Cong.,  ist  Session. 


TARIFFS  53 

two  sides  in  agreement  we  may  fairly  say  that  it  repre- 
sents the  actual  cost. 

For  a  given  sample  of  gloves  the  manufacturers'  repre- 
sentative estimated  the  German  fabrication  cost  at  $2.14 
per  dozen  pairs.1  The  cost  of  manufacturing  a  similar 
kind  in  Germany,  as  stated  by  the  importers,  varies  from 
$1.51  to  $1.91  per  dozen  pairs. 

The  cost  of  manufacturing  the  same  sample  of  gloves 
in  the  United  States,  as  stated  by  the  manufacturers' 
representative,  is  $5.49  per  dozen  pairs,  and  as  stated  by 
the  importers  it  is  $3.72. 

We  note  that  there  is  substantial  agreement  in  Ger- 
man cost  of  fabrication  and  a  wide  divergence  in  the 
estimated  cost  of  fabrication  in  the  United  States. 
Hence  we  have  made  an  attempt  to  reach  the  actual  cost 
in  the  United  States  by  adding  together  the  cost  of  the 
various  parts  of  the  work  as  found  in  the  Manufacturers' 
Schedule  and  adding  an  allowance  for  the  parts  of  the 
work  not  covered  by  piece  rates  (general  expenses). 
This  allowance  is  determined  by  adding  to  higher  general 
expenses,  as  stated  in  the  importers'  schedule,  for  Ger- 
man cost  30  per  cent.  This  computation  gives  us  $3.50, 
a  sum  even  higher  than  the  importers'  estimate.  It 
must  be  noted  in  connection  with  this  estimate  that  we 
are  using  net  labor  costs,  and  that  an  added  number  of 
inspections  would  change  the  total.  We  are,  however, 
including  all  costs  as  found  in  the  average  or  ordinary 
factory. 

The  following  tables,  I  and  III,  present  the  facts  sub- 
mitted to  the  committe  as  a  basis  for  action.  Table  II 
(as  indicated  in  the  introductory  notes)  is  our  own  com- 
bination of  the  various  costs.  We  note  in  Table  I  the 


Tariff  Hearings,  p.  £ 


54 


THE  LEATHER  GLOVE  INDUSTRY 


tendency  to  which  we  have  referred,  namely,  the  attempt 
to  overestimate  costs  to  obtain  a  favorable  difference. 
The  item  "  Dyeing,"  included  in  Table  I,  is  not  a  proper 
making  charge,  but  is  part  of  the  process  of  finishing 
leather.  To  make  the  comparison  a  fair  one,  this  item 
must  be  subtracted,  as  indicated  in  the  table. 

TABLE  I 

COST  OF  MANUFACTURING  GLOVES  IN  GERMANY1 

Lamb  and  schmaschen,  3  inch,  men's  and  ladies' 

Marks  per  Marks  per 

dozen.  dozen. 

Dyeing  (not  proper  making  charge) 1.50  2.00 

Cutting 2.30  2.80 

Trimming    10  .20 

Sewing  (including  material) 2.30  2.80 

Laying  or  dressing 30  .40 

General  expenses  1.50  2.00 

8.00  10.20 

Less  item  I  (not  proper  making  charge) 6.50  8.20 


Equivalent  in  United  States  money2  ..................  $1.51  $1.91 

General  expenses  include  foremen,  tacking,  polishing,  making  press 
cutting,  stamping,  ridelling,  and  blacking. 

From  these  figures  we  must  attempt  to  ascertain  the 
real  difference  in  labor  cost  in  the  United  States  and 
Germany.  Combining  these  various  estimates  we  get 
widely  varying  results,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  tables 
following. 

If  we  accept  the  estimate  of  the  American  manufac- 
turers as  to  costs  in  both  countries,  we  obtain  a  differ- 
ence of  $3.25  per  dozen.  If  we  accept  the  figures  of  the 
importers  as  to  costs  in  both  countries,  we  have,  re- 
spectively, $2.21  and  $1.81,  as  we  take  the  low  or  high 
estimate  for  German  costs. 


1  Tariff  Hearings  ,  1908,  p.  £523.     Statement  submitted  to  Ways  and 
Means  Committee  by  Importers  of  Gloves. 
1  Mark  taken  as  equal  to  24  cents. 


TARIFFS  55 

TABLE  II 

COST  OF  MANUFACTURING  MEN'S  GLOVES1  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

Column  I,  prices  as  found  in  Manufacturers'  Schedule  for  1910. 
(Same  as  for  1908).  See  Appendix  I. 

Column  2,  prices  as  found  in  Importers'  Statement,  Tariff  Hearings, 
P-  2523. 

Price  per  Price  per 

dozen.  dozen. 

Shaving $0.30  

Cutting 90  $1.20 

Slitting 10 

Trimming  (included)  10  

Needle  sewing 18  

Silking  (included)  18  .35 

Pulling 06 

Making ^ i.io  i.oo 

Hemming  t,'- 12  .15 

Laying  off .15 

Fastening 

Tacking  .12 

Examining  .20 

Sciling .55 

Banding 

Boxing 

$3-04  $3.72 

Add  allowance  for  processes  not  paid  for  by  piece          . 
rates 467 

$3.507 

Now  using  our  own  estimates  (Table  II)  of  the 
United  States'  cost  and  the  importers'  estimate  of 
German  cost  we  have  as  the  difference  in  labor  cost 
$1.99  or  $1.59  according  to  whether  we  take  the  low  or 
high  estimate  for  German  cost.  Using  our  estimate  for 
United  States'  cost  and  the  American  manufacturers' 
estimate  of  German  cost  we  have  $1.36. 

1  General  expenses  are  computed  as  being  slightly  more  than  307  per 
cent,  higher  in  United  States  than  in  Germany.  The  total  ad  valorem 
equivalent  of  present  tariff  is  41  per  cent.  (Information  for  Committee, 
1908).  Cost  of  fabrication  of  women's  gloves  is  the  same  as  for  men's 
gloves. 


56  THE  LEATHER  GLOVE  INDUSTRY 

TABLE  III 

COST  OF  FABRICATION  IN  GRENOBLE,   MEN'S  AND   LADIES '  ;  3-INCH  OVER- 
SEAM.      NO  FASTENINGS 

Column  i,  low  cost;  column  2,  high  cost. 

Francs  per  dozen. 

Cutting  (riddling) 3.150  3.25 

Choosing   1.50 

Stamping  , 025  

Press  cutting    OQO  .09 

Cutting  glove  to  length    015  .05 

Cutting  thumbs  and  fourchettes  355  

i  row  embroidery  or  point  .300  .75 

End  pulling  .150 

Closing  1. 100  1.90 

Matching  fourchettes  .090  .09 

Thumbs i.ioo  

Tacking  tapes  (Col.  2  Rabbatur)  300  .25 

Sewing  welts  and  bandalettes 400  .40 

Tacking  welts  and  bandalettes   250  .30 

Blacking no  .10 

Tacking  together    035  .05 

Dressing    300  .30 

Polishing  100  

Salaries  1.560  

Dyeing    1.470  1.50 

Silk .314  .15 

Thread  077  

T>Pe 155 

General  1.335 3.50 

12.481  14.18 

Less  dyeing,  not  a  proper  making  charge  1-470  1.50 

ii.oii  12.68 

Equivalent  in  United  States  money $2.20  $2«53 

To  summarize  these  facts,  the  American  manufacturer 
says  the  difference  of  labor  cost  in  the  manufacture  of  a 
dozen  pairs  of  gloves  in  Germany  and  the  United  States 
is  $3.25  ;  the  importer  says  it  varies  from  $1.81  to  $2. 21. 
Our  computation  puts  the  difference  between  $1.36  and 
$1.99.  The  tariff  rate  (which  includes  20  per  cent,  duty 
on  the  raw  material)  is  $4.80. 

In  the  following  tables  we  present  the  computations 

from  which  these  conclusions  are  drawn. 

Jc  ?S 
1  Tariff  Hearings >  Nov.  28,  1908,  p.**5-23.     Statement  submitted  to 

Ways  and  Means  Committee  by  Importers  of  Gloves. 


TARIFFS  57 

It  must  be  observed  that  in  Table  I  the  first  item  has 
not  been  included  in  the  total  since  it  is  not  a  proper 
charge  upon  making  cost.  If  then  we  compare  the 
results  found  with  the  statement  of  German  cost  as 
found  in  the  estimate  of  the  American  Manufacturers, 
we  have  a  fair  working  basis  as  follows  : 

CASE  A  l 

Cost  of  fabrication  (for  sample  shown)  in  Gloversville $5-49 

Cost  of  fabrication  (for  sample  shown)  in  Germany  2.14 

Difference  in  labor  cost $3-35 

Add  tariff  on  raw  material  (20  per  cent,  adval.} 1.25 

Labor  cost  difference  in  Gloversville  and  Germany $4.60 

Rate  of  present  tariff  $4.80 

CASE  B 

Cost  of  fabrication  in  United  States  $3-72 

Cost  of  fabrication  in  Germany 1.51 

Difference  in  cost  in  United  States  and  Germany  $2.21 

Add  tariff  on  raw  material 1.25 

$3^46 

In  Case  B  we  have  taken  the  American  cost  as  stated 
by  the  importers a  and  deducted  from  it  the  low  cost  as 
found  in  Table  I.  Now  let  us  take  cost  of  manufacture 
in  United  States  as  determined  in  column  i  of  Table  II 
and  we  have  the  following  : 

CASE  C 

Cost  of  fabrication  in  United  States  $3-50 

Cost  of  fabrication  in  Germany 1.51 

Difference  in  labor  cost  in  Germany  and  United  States $i-99 

Add  tariff  on  raw  material  1.25 

Rate  of  tariff  just  equal  to  difference $3.24 

If  now  we  substitute  in  these  computations  a  rate  of 
cost  in  Germany  equal  to  the  higher  set  of  corrected 
figures  in  Table  I,  we  have : 

1  Tariff  Hearings,  p.sj^3.  f  See  Table  II. 


58  THE  LEATHER  GLOVE  INDUSTRY 

CASE  B' 

Cost  of  fabrication  in  United  States $3.72 

Cost  of  fabrication  in  Germany  i.gi 

Difference  in  labor  cost $1.81 

Add  tariff  on  raw  material  ...  1.25 

Rate  of  tariff  just  equal  to  difference $3.06 

CASE  C 

Cost  of  fabrication  in  United  States  $3.50 

Cost  of  fabrication  in  Germany 1.91 

Difference  in  labor  cost $1.50 

Add  tariff  on  raw  material  1.25 

Rate  of  tariff  just  equals  difference $2.84 

For  further  comparison  let  us  turn  to  Table  III  for 
the  costs  of  fabrication  in  France  as  reported  in  the  im- 
porters' statements.  There  is  no  such  method  of  check- 
ing these  figure*  as  we  found  in  the  case  of  the  German 
manufacture,  because  the  manufacturers  of  the  United 
States  did  not  include  in  their  evidence  any  statements 
as  to  cost  in  France.  The  rates  of  wages  as  given  in 
Dr.  Cote's1  study  of  the  French  industry  are  so  varied 
that  it  is  impossible  to  reach  a  basis  of  comparison  even 
for  the  part  of  the  work  covered.  He  gives  only  the  fig- 
ures for  cutting  costs,  which  represent  not  more  than 
one-quarter  of  the  total  fabrication  cost.  It  must  be 
noted  that  we  have  eliminated  from  the  table  certain 
items  which  are  not  properly  included  in  the  costs  of 
fabrication,  but  are  a  part  of  the  cost  of  raw  material, 
which  is  assumed  to  be  the  same  in  all  these  compari- 
sons. Comparing  costs  from  Tables  II  and  III  by  the 
same  methods  which  are  used  in  comparing  German  and 
United  States  cost  of  fabrication,  we  see  that  using  the 
American  manufacturers'  estimates  of  cost  of  fabrication 
in  the  United  States  and  the  importers'  statement  of 

'Cote,  U  Industrie  gantiere ,  etc. 


TARIFFS  59 

cost  of  fabrication  in  France  we  get  a  difference  in  labor 
cost  of  $3.29,  or  $2.96,  according  to  whether  we  are 
using  the  low  or  high  estimate  of  cost  in  France. 

Using  our  own  estimate  of  cost  as  found  in  the  United 
States  and  the  importers'  estimates  of  cost  in  France,  the 
only  ones  obtainable,  we  have  $1.30,  or  $0.97  as  the  dif- 
ference. 

Or,  in  other  words,  the  manufacturers'  figures  would 
show  that  it  costs  from  $2.96  to  $3.29  more  to  make  a 
dozen  pairs  of  gloves  in  the  United  States  than  it  costs 
in  France. 

The  importers  say  that  it  costs  from  $1.19  to  $1.52 
more  to  make  a  dozen  pairs  of  gloves  in  the  United 
States  than  it  costs  in  France. 

Our  estimate  shows  that  it  costs  from  $0.97  to  $1.30 
more  to  make  a  dozen  pairs  of  gloves  in  the  United 
States  than  it  costs  in  France. 

The  computations  upon  which  these  facts  are  derived 
are  placed  here  for  convenience : 

Case  D.    Case  E.    Case  F. 

Cost  of  fabrication  in  United   States $3-72         $3-50         $S-4Q 

Cost  of  fabrication  in  France  2.20  2.20  2.20 

Difference  in  labor  cost $1.52         $1.30         $3.20 

Add  tariff  on  raw  material 1.25  1.25  1.25 

Tariff  just  equal  to  difference  $2.77         $2.55 

Present  rate  of  tariff  $4.80         $4,80 

Case  D'.     Case  E'.     Case  F'. 

Cost  of  fabrication  in  United  States $3.72  $3-50         $5-40 

Cost  of  fabrication  in  France 2.53  2.53  2.53 

Difference  in  labor  cost $1.19  $0.97          $2.96 

Add  tariff  on  raw  material 1.25  1.25  1.25 

Tariff  just  equal  to  difference  $2.55  $2.22         $4.21 

Present  rate  of  tariff $4.80  $4.80         $4.80 

These  computations  assume  the  accuracy  of  the  costs 
as  shown  in  the  Tables  I,  II  and  III  and  make  no  allow- 


60  THE  LEATHER  GLOVE  INDUSTRY 

ance  for  a  margin  to  cover  "reasonable  profit."  We 
believe  that  what  is  wanted  first  of  all  is  an  exact  deter- 
mination of  the  absolute  difference  in  the  fabrication 
cost  of  the  product  in  question.  When  we  have  secured 
this  net  difference  it  will  be  a  simple  matter  to  add  to  it 
a  percentage  or  general  allowance  which  will  be  the 
same  for  all  industries.  All  the  computations  further 
assume  the  use  of  a  grade  of  leather  suitable  for  making 
gloves  to  sell  at  $12.50  per  dozen,  wholesale.  It  is  in 
this  way  that  we  derive  the  amount  to  be  added  for 
tariff  on  raw  material.  The  testimony  at  the  Tariff 
Hearings  shows  that  20  per  cent,  on  raw  material  is 
equal  to  about  10  per  cent,  of  the  value  of  the  finished 
goods. 

While  leather  suitable  for  making  fine  gloves  is  manu- 
factured in  the  United  States,  yet  the  percentage  in 
proportion  to  the  total  consumption  is  small  and  if  we 
eliminate  "Mocha"  in  the  production  of  which  the 
Americans  have  a  practical  monopoly,  we  see  that  the 
benefit  of  the  tariff  on  raw  material  is  very  little  dis- 
tributed. On  the  other  hand,  the  burden  of  this  part  of 
the  tariff  falls  on  all  consumers.  In  the  Hearings  of 
1908,  the  manufacturers  asked  to  have  this  part  of  the 
tariff  continued,  on  the  ground  that  while  asking  for 
protection  for  themselves  they  could  not  consistently 
withhold  their  support  from  the  allied  branch  of  the 
industry.  While  we  cannot  overlook  the  generosity  of 
the  argument  as  between  the  manufacturers  of  gloves 
and  leather,  we  must  also  remember  that  the  contribu- 
tion to  the  leather  manufacturer  comes  from  the  con- 
suming public  and  not  from  the  makers  of  gloves. 

The  feeling  among  the  producers  of  leather  is  that  if 
compelled  to  submit  to  a  reduction  of  the  tariff,  the 
manufacturers  of  gloves  will  consent  to  the  removal  of 
the  duty  on  the  raw  material  first  of  all. 


TARIFFS  61 

The  only  effect  of  the  removal  of  the  tariff  on  raw 
material  upon  the  manufacturer  of  gloves  will  be  to  re- 
duce slightly  the  amount  of  capital  required  to  carry  on 
his  business.  The  effect  upon  the  maker  of  glove- 
leather  may  be  more  serious,  but  with  that  we  cannot 
deal  here.  As  we  have  shown  in  Chapters  I  and  II,  the 
raw  material  for  the  glove  manufacturer  is  tanned  leather, 
and  we  are  necessarily  concerned  here  with  getting  the 
cheapest  possible  supply  of  raw  material. 

The  saving  to  the  consumer  from  the  removal  of  the 
twenty-per-cent  duty  on  glove-leather  could  not  exceed 
ten  per  cent  of  the  present  price  of  the  glove,  and  would 
be  from  ten  to  fifteen  cents  per  pair. 

The  question  cannot  be  left  here.  We  must  consider 
whether  the  facts  justify  a  further  saving  to  the  con- 
sumer. From  the  computations  and  tables  in  the  earlier 
part  of  this  chapter  we  see  that  while  the  tariff  rate  on 
men's  gloves  varies  from  $4  to  $4.80  per  dozen  pairs 
(including  the  tariff  on  raw  material),  the  actual  differ- 
ence in  labor  cost  varies  according  to  the  particular  set 
of  facts  upon  which  it  is  based,  from  $3.25  to  $0.97. 

Hence  removing  the  tariff  on  raw  material  and  taking 
the  lowest  estimate  of  difference  in  labor  cost,  viz.,  that 
in  Case  E',  we  see  that  the  tariff  on  this  basis  may  be 
brought  from  $4.80,  the  present  total,  to  $0.97,  thus  re- 
sulting in  a  saving  to  the  consuming  public  of  $3.83  per 
dozen  pairs  of  gloves,  or,  in  terms  of  individual  use, 
nearly  $0.32  per  pair. 

We  must  notice  that  the  case  taken  here  uses  as  a  basis 
the  lowest  difference  in  labor  cost  between  France  and 
the  United  States.  The  lowest  difference  between  Ger- 
many and  the  United  States  as  shown  in  our  tables  is 
$1.36.  If  this  be  made  the  basis  of  the  tariff,  the  saving 
to  the  consumer  will  be  $3.44  per  dozen  pairs,  or 
approximately  $0.29  per  pair. 


62  THE  LEATHER  GLOVE  INDUSTRY 

We  have  one  further  means  of  testing  the  rate.  We 
pointed  out  that  in  1890  an  attempt  was  made  to  so  fix 
the  rate  as  to  give  the  market  in  women's  gloves  to  the 
importers.  This  principle  remained  in  force  until  1908, 
and  the  testimony  of  the  domestic  manufacturers  showed 
at  that  time  that  they  were  making  about  five  or  six  per 
cent  of  the  total  amount  of  women's  gloves  used  in  the 
United  States,  in  competition  with  gloves  imported  under 
the  rates  lower  than  on  men's  gloves.1 

The  rates  then  in  force  varied  from  $1.75  to  $2.50  per 
dozen  pairs.  Let  us  assume  that  all  the  women's  gloves 
made  here  are  similar  in  material  to  those  covered  by  our 
tables;  then  the  part  of  the  rate  attributable  to  duty  on 
raw  material  will  be  $1.25,  and  the  remainder  of  the  rate 
will  represent  the  difference  in  labor  cost.  This  remain- 
der will  be  $1.25,  a  sum  so  near  $0.97  and  $1.36  as  to 
indicate  the  probability  of  accuracy  in  our  estimate. 

There  is  a  peculiar  psychological  consideration  affect- 
ing the  saving  which  we  have  indicated. 

In  the  argument  of  the  American  manufacturers,  stress 
is  laid  upon  the  fact  that  prices  in  gloves  usually  run  in 
even  quarters  of  a  dollar,  and  the  inference  is  that  no 
savings  between  these  figures  will  be  passed  on  to  the 
consumer  unless  his  psychology  changes  or  keener 
competition  arises  among  the  retailers.  But  this  ten- 
dency is  already  felt.  It  is  not  at  all  uncommon  to  see 
gloves  displayed  in  furnishing  stores  at  $1.10  and  $1.15, 
and  the  department  stores  are  acquainting  their  cus- 
tomers with  such  prices  as  $0.79  and  $0.89. 

Further  importance  is  given  to  the  present  discussion 
by  the  fact  that  at  the  time  of  the  passage  of  the  latest 
tariff  law  the  House  Bill  carried  a  rate  that  was  the  same 

1  Tariff  Hearings. 


TARIFFS  63 

both  upon  men's  and  women's  gloves.  Thus  it  may  be 
seen  that  if  the  present  rate  is  prohibitive  with  respect 
to  men's  gloves  it  would  become  so  at  once  in  the  case 
of  women's.  This  would  have  added  at  once  to  the  pro- 
tected business  of  this  country  an  amount  of  five  million 
dollars  annually. 

It  is  conceded  that  the  cost  of  making  men's  and 
women's  gloves  of  the  shorter  lengths  is  approximately 
the  same.  The  decrease  in  the  cost  of  the  smaller  amount 
of  leather  in  a  woman's  glove  is  nearly  equaled  by  the 
extra  cost  of  the  somewhat  finer  ornamentation.  Thus 
the  two  kinds  are  about  equally  expensive,  so  far  as  ma- 
terial is  concerned.  Exactly  the  same  rates  are  paid  for 
cutting  and  sewing  the  two  kinds.  There  is  only  one 
real  point  of  difference,  and  that  is  a  trade  difficulty 
rather  than  one  of  manufacture.  The  element  of  style 
plays  an  important  part  in  the  market  for  women's 
gloves.1  The  change  in  the  length  of  the  sleeves  of 
women's  clothing  may  effect  an  entire  change  in  the  de- 
mand for  gloves  :  calling  now  for  one  length  in  gloves 
and  now  for  another.  Since  one  of  the  great  difficulties 
of  the  present  situation  is  the  occurrence  of  a  succession 
of  alternate  rush  and  slack  seasons,  it  is  reasonable  to 
suppose  that  the  addition  of  a  new  element  of  uncer- 
tainty might  prove  to  be  so  disadvantageous  as  to  offset 
the  gain  coming  from  the  enlargement  of  the  field.  This 
objection  seems  to  be  a  minor  one,  and  if  we  leave  it  out 
of  consideration  it  is  difficult  to  see  why  the  logic  of  the 
situation  does  not  demand  the  same  tariff  upon  both 
men's  and  women's  gloves. 

This  very  fact  led  to  the  bitter  controversy  that  arose 
over  the  determination  of  the  tariff  rate  for  the  Payne- 

1  Cote,  Chapter  II,  Sur  la  Mode. 


64  THE  LEATHER  GLOVE  INDUSTRY 

Aldrich  bill.  The  Manufacturers'  Association  asked  for 
a  uniform  rate '  upon  men's  and  women's  gloves,  ignoring 
it  is  charged,  the  alleged  agreement  of  1890;  which  pro- 
vided for  a  division  of  the  field.  The  house  Bill  carried 
the  rate  asked  for  by  the  manufacturers,  while  the  Senate 
bill  carried  the  rate  of  the  present  law. 

The  report  of  these  facts  called  forth  a  storm  of  pro- 
test from  consumers  of  gloves  all  over  the  United  States. 
Many  newspapers  took  up  the  discussion,  not  uninflu- 
enced, it  is  charged,  by  the  fact  that  the  majority  of  the 
importers  were  closely  allied  with  the  large  department 
stores  which  are  extensive  advertisers.  The  greater 
part  of  the  product  of  the  domestic  maker  is  handled  by 
small  haberdashers,  who  do  not  make  extensive  use  of 
the  great  city  dailies. 

The  final  decision  was  made  in  the  conference  com- 
mittee on  July  29,  1909.  All  other  items  of  the  schedule 
except  lumber  and  gloves  had  been  settled  and  it  was 
expected  that  in  the  case  of  gloves  the  rate  of  the  house 
bill  would  be  approved.  This  rate  would  have  made  the 
duty  on  men's  and  women's  gloves  alike  $4.00  with 
certain  cumulative  additions  for  grades  receiving  more 
work  than  the  ordinary  kinds. 

As  the  matter  was  being  pressed  to  its  conclusion  a 
letter  from  the  President  was  handed  to  the  Chairman. 
Immediately  an  adjournment  was  taken,  and  in  the  re-con- 
vened session  the  rate  upon  gloves  was  fixed  as  found  in 
the  Senate  bill.  This  was  slightly  lower  than  the  rate 
of  the  Dingley  law  upon  Ladies  "  Schmaschen  "  gloves 
and  the  same  as  the  Dingley  law  on  all  other  grades.8 

The  natural   inference   would  be  that   the  change  of 

1  See  Appendix  for  proposed  rate. 
'See  Appendix  IX. 


TARIFFS  65 

attitude  in  the  Conference  was  traceable  to  the  Presi- 
dent's letter.  That  such  is  the  fact  is  borne  out  by  the 
interview  published  in  the  Outlook  of  Dec.  2,  1911. 

"  But  I  could  not  get  free  lumber  either.  The  only  way 
I  procured  the  substantial  reduction  from  $1.50  was  by 
sending  the  Conference  Committee  an  intimation  that  I 
should  veto  the  bill  if  it  carried  a  lumber  duty  higher 
than  $1.25.  /  took  a  similar  and  equally  successful  stand 
regarding  gloves,  on  some  classes  of  which  an  increase 
had  been  proposed  for  the  benefit  of  an  "  infant  industry." 
Some  of  my  critics  will  ask  "  If  you  could  do  so  much 
in  these  instances  by  swinging  your  veto  club*  why  did 
you  not  use  the  same  weapon  all  along  the  line?" 

Here  at  once  we  have  both  the  difficulty  of  the  tariff 
situation  and  the  remedy.  We  have  shown  that  the 
Committee  did  not  have  in  its  possession  facts  sufficiently 
authenticated  to  permit  of  a  scientific  determination  of 
the  rate  of  duty.  But  that  such  facts  are  obtainable  we 
believe  this  study  has  shown.  In  fact  some  of  them 
have  been  established  to  the  satisfaction  of  a  court  of 
law.2 

That  a  proper  use  of  the  facts  can  be  made,  once  they 
are  known,  seems  clear  from  the  effect  of  the  President's 
action  in  the  case  of  the  Payne-Aldrich  law.  True,  he 
was  no  doubt  influenced  by  the  newspaper  campaign  fos- 
tered by  the  importers.  But  if  the  facts  were  ascertained 
by  a  properly  authorized  government  agent,  canvassing 
the  foreign  fields  as  we  have  covered  the  domestic  field, 
the  publication  of  the  facts  themselves  would  be  a  suffi- 
cient answer  to  all  misrepresentation.  No  room  would 
remain  for  half  statement  or  misstatement  of  costs,  and 

1  Italics  are  the  writer's. 

*U.  S.  v.  D.  S.  Morrison,  109  Fed.  Reporter,  891.     See  p.  387. 


66  THE  LEATHER  GLOVE  INDUSTRY 

consequently  the  preliminary  political  skirmishing  would 
be  entirely  removed. 

Only  in  the  final  enactment  of  the  rate  would  political 
action  be  called  for,  and  this  would  become  largely  a 
matter  of  form.  The  people  would  always  have  in  the 
reports  of  the  committee  or  commission  a  ready  check 
for  any  attempt  to  give  undue  advantage  to  any  interest. 
The  action  of  the  President  could  then  be  as  definite  as 
it  was  in  1909,  and  would  rest  beyond  any  question  upon 
a  fair  basis  of  fact. 

In  answering  the  questions  outlined  at  the  beginning 
of  this  chapter  we  have  shown,  first,  that  the  burden  of 
the  tariff  falls  upon  the  consumer  of  gloves ;  second,  that 
some  tariff  is  necessary  to  maintain  the  industry  in  the 
United  States  because  of  the  labor  cost  here,  which  is 
higher  than  in  European  glove  centers;  third,  that  the 
present  rate  of  tariff  on  men's  gloves  is  higher  than  is 
necessary  to  meet  the  difference  in  labor  cost.  In  assert- 
ing this  we  must  remember  that  no  manufacturer  can  be 
expected  to  invest  capital  in  the  building  of  a  plant  the 
utility  of  which  may  be  destroyed  by  a  legislative  act. 
Hence  before  attempting  to  fix  the  fair  rate  of  tariff  we 
must  find  a  better  method  of  fixing  it,  one  depending 
upon  economic  fact  and  not  on  political  change. 


CHAPTER  VII 

SUMMARY    AND    CONCLUSION 

IN  our  summary  of  the  leather-glove  industry  of  the 
United  States  we  have  shown  that  it  furnishes  one  of  the 
best  examples  obtainable  of  the  working  of  the  tariff  sys- 
tem of  the  United  States.  We  have  shown  that  it  pre- 
sents a  favorable  opportunity  for  the  application  of  the 
principles  of  scientific  tariff-making. 

To  do  this  we  have  traced  the  development  of  the  in- 
dustry through  all  the  stages  of  industrial  evolution  from 
the  simplest  kind  of  domestic  production  to  the  stage  in 
which  factory  organization  and  methods  have  been 
brought  to  a  fairly  good  state  of  perfection.  We  have 
pointed  out  the  fact  that  in  the  earlier  stages  of  the  in- 
dustry, when  the  conditions  of  supply  for  raw  materials 
were  much  more  favorable  than  they  have  been  since 
1890,  growth  was  slow.  On  the  other  hand,  it  appears 
that  with  the  adoption  of  the  tariff  of  1890,  which  was 
the  first  tariff  to  be  fixed  upon  the  basis  of  protection  in 
the  modern  sense,  there  began  a  new  period  of  remark- 
ably rapid  growth.  During  this  period,  from  1890  to 
1912,  the  glove  industry  has  reached  its  maturity.  The 
importance  of  this  growth  can  only  be  appreciated  after 
examining,  as  we  have  done,  the  nature  of  the  industry. 
Glove  making  presents  so  curious  a  combination  of  art 
and  industry  that  marked  advances  in  Europe  have  been 
very  slow.  European  glove-workers,  particularly  cutters, 
consider  themselves  artists  rather  than  artisans. 

67 


68  THE  LEATHER  GLOVE  INDUSTRY 

This  attitude  was  shown  by  workers  in  the  American 
glove  industry  up  to  1901.  The  effect  of  the  decision 
of  the  courts  handed  down  in  that  year,  permitting  the 
importation  of  foreign  cutters,  was  to  change  this  attitude. 
The  resulting  increase  in  the  number  of  cutters  made 
them  more  dependent  upon  the  demands  of  the  manufac- 
turers and  hastened  the  organization  of  the  factories  upon 
a  more  modern  industrial  basis.  We  may  say  that  in  the 
United  States  the  industry  has  been  put  upon  a  strictly 
modern  basis  for  the  first  time  in  its  history.  This 
advance  has  been  made  with  almost  none  of  the  disad- 
vantages usually  accompanying  factory  growth.  As  we 
have  shown  in  our  discussion  the  absence  of  the  usual 
factory  district  in  the  glove  centers  has  prevented  crowd- 
ing and  congestion  which  generally  occur  in  a  highly 
centralized  industry.  The  scattered  location  of  the  fac- 
tories in  the  cities  of  Gloversville  and  Johnstown  gives 
plenty  of  opportunity  for  the  erection  of  well-lighted, 
well-ventilated  factories. 

In  addition  to  the  factory  side  of  the  industry  there  is 
a  large  amount  of  work  done  in  the  homes  of  the 
workers  under  conditions  which  seem  strikingly  free 
from  the  evils  of  home  work  as  they  exist  in  large  cities. 
The  housing  conditions  of  the  two  glove  cities  are  very 
favorable.  By  far  the  larger  part  of  the  population  live 
in  detached  houses,  rarely  are  there  more  than  two 
families  in  one  house.  We  have  shown  the  great  extent 
of  this  kind  of  production  and  its  growth  as  indicated  by 
the  increased  use  of  small  motors  installed  in  the  homes 
of  workers  for  the  operation  of  sewing  machines.  There 
were  in  1911,  1300  of  these  motors  in  private  houses,  an 
increase  of  nearly  thirty  per  cent  over  the  previous  year. 
This  increase  is  one  of  the  most  significant  tendencies  of 
the  industry.  It  promises  a  much  wider  extension  of 


SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSION  69 

the  home  working  system  than  has  existed  up  to  the 
present  time  and  a  utilization  of  a  greater  number  of  the 
small  power  sites  that  abound  in  the  foothills  of  the 
Adirondacks.  The  most  serious  limitation  upon  the  ex- 
tension of  home  working  has  been  the  problem  of  trans- 
portation among  the  scattered  houses  of  the  outlying 
hamlets  and  farming  sections.  In  the  summer  months 
the  use  of  automobiles  has  done  much  to  remedy  this 
difficulty.  But  the  summer  months  include  the  slack 
season,  and  in  the  winter  months  of  the  rush  season  the 
roads  of  Fulton  county  and  the  surrounding  counties  are 
not  easily  traveled  by  any  vehicle.  With  the  beginning 
of  the  year  1913  a  very  effective  method  of  handling  this 
problem  will  come  into  use  in  the  form  of  the  parcel 
post.  Gloves  made  and  unmade  are  light  in  weight  and 
small  in  bulk,  so  they  can  easily  be  sent  through  the 
mails.  This  method  will  be  particularly  effective  in 
reaching  workers  living  upon  rural  free-delivery  routes. 
From  all  these  facts  we  see  that  the  glove  industry  is 
in  a  promising  condition  from  a  manufacturing  point  of 
view.  In  the  earlier  chapters  we  showed  the  relation  be- 
tween the  tariff  and  the  condition  of  the  industry  in  the 
United  States.  We  showed  that  there  is  an  actual  dif- 
ference in  the  labor  cost  of  making  a  dozen  pairs  of 
gloves  in  the  United  States  and  either  Germany  or 
France,  the  countries  from  which  most  importations  of 
gloves  come.  Without  some  tariff  to  offset  this  differ- 
ence in  labor  cost,  the  industry  could  not  have  advanced 
to  its  present  state  of  development.  The  period  of  pro- 
tection in  the  glove  industry  needs  to  be  somewhat 
longer  than  in  other  industries,  because  the  training  of  a 
force  of  workers  in  a  glove  industry  is  a  relatively  slow 
process.  Once  trained,  the  force  becomes  more  perma- 
nent than  in  many  other  lines  of  manufacture,  because 


70  THE  LEATHER  GLOVE  INDUSTRY 

women  who  as  girls  learned  the  trade  of  sewing  gloves 
are  able  to  carry  it  on  in  their  homes  after  marriage. 
We  considered  both  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of 
this  form  of  work  in  the  proper  place. 

Our  final  consideration  was  the  question  as  to  the  per- 
manency and  amount  of  the  tariff  upon  gloves.  If  we 
concede  the  principle  of  protection  it  must  undoubtedly 
be  at  the  minimum  rate;  but  again  the  minimum  rate 
implies  permanency  in  the  rate,  for  capital  will  not  flow 
into  an  industry  protected  at  the  minimum  rate  for  a 
short  or  indefinite  period.  That  the  rate  of  the  Payne- 
Aldrich  law  was  not  at  the  minimum  we  believe  we  have 
shown.  The  reason  for  the  high  rate  we  have  shown  to 
lie  in  the  method  of  determining  the  rate.  This  study 
shows  that  the  facts  for  the  scientific  determination  are 
obtainable  and  the  proper  method  of  handling  these  facts 
calls  for  the  establishment  of  a  permanent  non-partisan 
body  with  power  to  obtain  the  facts  in  this  as  in  every 
other  industry,  and  power  to  fix  the  rate  of  tariff  upon 
those  facts  when  found.  This  power  implies  the  right 
of  the  body  to  make  changes  in  the  rate  for  proved  cause 
when  necessary. 

From  our  study  of  the  glove  industry  we  conclude,  first, 
that  during  the  twenty-two  years  of  its  protected  exist- 
ence since  1890  it  has  developed  a  trained  labor  force,  so 
fortunately  situated  in  living  and  working  conditions  and 
with  such  prospects  of  immediate  growth  as  to  entitle 
the  industry  to  at  least  a  temporary  continuation  of 
protection. 

Second,  that  the  present  method  of  fixing  the  rate  of 
protection  upon  the  industry  is  responsible  for  the  exces- 
sive rate  and  the  improper  distribution  of  the  benefit  of 
the  rate  between  manufacturer  and  laborer,  the  liability 
to  change  in  rate  enabling  the  manufacturer  to  resist  the 
demand  of  the  laborer  for  his  share  in  the  protection. 


SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSION  7! 

And,  finally,  if  the  tariff  be  adjusted  by  a  permanent 
nonpartisan  body  able  to  make  adjustments  for  proved 
cause  when  needed,  and  empowered  to  demand  the  high 
efficiency  necessitated  by  a  close  adjustment  of  the  rate 
to  actual  difference  in  labor  cost  of  production  in  the 
factories  of  the  more  efficient  class,  the  future  of  the 
industry  is  assured  and  it  will  form  a  strong  part  in  our 
diversified  system  of  production. 


APPENDIX  I 
SCHEDULE  OF  PRICES 

Of  the  Glove  Manufacturers  Association  of  the  United  States 
as  adopted  for  the  year  1910,  for  Table  Cutting:,  American 
Table  Cutting:,  Sewing:  Fine  Gloves.  (Second  column,  table 
as  agreed  upon  for  year  ending:  December  i,  1900,  by  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Glove  Manufacturers  Association  and  of  the 
Fulton  County  International  Glove  Table  Cutters  Union.) 

Price  per  doz.  pr. 
Kind  of  Work.  1910.        1900. 

Imported  or  domestic  kid  or  suede $0.90        $0.88 

Mocha  castor  or  Mocha  reindeer i.oo  .93*4 

Mocha  castor  for  fur-lined  gloves  pr  where  two  inches 

or  more  of  extra  leather  is  required i.io          1.05 

Craven  tan,  napa  or  dipped  lamb  or  sheep 95  .95 

Same  if  for  lamb  or  fur-lined  gloves 1.05          1.05 

Real  kid  or  goat  i.oo          i.oo 

Oil  or  alum-dressed  deerskins i.io          

Indian-tanned  deerskins 95  .95 

Little  jacks 1.20          1.20 

Cambretta  and  Mocha  kid 99  .99 

Coltskin  i.io         

Calfskin 1.05          

Chamois  or  fleshers,  all  colors 86  .84 

Women's  wide  cuff  gauntlets,  flare  included  but  not 

bound 1.20         

Women's  wide  cuff  gauntlets,  flare  included  with  bind- 
ing  . 1.25 

Women's  gauntlets,  with  cuff  up  to  2#  inches  wide. 

including  flare 1.05          1.05 

Automobile  gauntlets,  not  combination 1.50          

For  dowling  the  cuffs  of  women's  gauntlets  extra 10  .10 

All  mittens  18  cents  per  doz.  less  than  corresponding 

gloves 

Boys'  gloves  not  to  exceed  8%  inches  of  leather  for 
lined  or  8  inches  for  unlined  and  2^  inches  in  top 

length,  not  cur  on  cadet  patterns 80  .80 

Cutting  lamb  linings 70 

Cutting  fur  linings i.oo 

Tilburys  with  fourchettes  and  part  thumbs 50 

Backs.. 40  -40 

Palms — Kid  palms  incl.  fourchettes  and  thumbs 70 

Mocha  palm  incl.  fourchettes  and  thumbs 75 

Buck  or  cambretta  incl.  fourchettes  and  thumbs...       .80         


APPENDIX  I 


73 


Extras. 
Spring  pieces  ........................................................  03  .03 

Laps  .....................................................................  05  .05 

Ridelle  ...................................................................  n  .11 

Gores  .....................................................................  05  .05 

Blue  mark  running  length  of  glovr  ..........................  05 

Extra  wrist  binding  .............................................  05 

Flat  slit  welt  .........................  .................................  03          ...... 

Band  tops   ........  ....................................................  15  .15 

Quirks  if  not  in  pattern  .............................................  10  .10 

Mocha  or  reindeer  rags  to  be  cut  by  day  at  ...............     3.00          ...... 

Deerskin  rags,  per  dozen  .........................................  10          ...... 

Men's  goods  or  women's  lined  gloves,  cut  with  more 

than  %  inch  flare  on  each  side  ...............................  10 

Women's   barritz   and    mousquetaire    gloves,    where 

flare  is  used,  with  more  than  %  inch  on  each  side...       .10 

Punching  and  trimming  gloves  .................................  10          ...... 

Punching  and  trimming  mittens  ................................  10          ..... 

Slitting  gloves  by  hand  ..........................................  40 

Slitting  mittens  by  hand    ..........................................  15          ...... 

Slitting  one-finger  mittens  by  hand  ..........................  20 

Cutting  single  pairs  ...............................................  15 

Cutting  single  pairs  and  slitting  by  hand  ....................  25 

7^  cents  per  inch  for  every  inch  or  part  of  an  inch  in 

length  in  excess  of  3#   inches  on  men's  and  4# 

inches  on  women's  gloves  excepting  on  all  chamois, 

which  shall  be  5  cents  per  inch. 

French  chalk  applied  if  wanted. 

Only  two  kinds  of  gloves  and  one  throw-out  (boys)  shall 
be  required  from  one  batch  of  leather. 

Fourchettes  shall  be  replaced  only  before  the  glove  is  made. 

Cutters  will  be  allowed  to  draw  up  to  $20  if  they  have 
earned  same,  on  the  second  Saturday  after  regular  pay-day. 

Any  special  extra  work,  not  provided  for  in  this  schedule, 
may  be  adjusted  between  the  manufacturer  and  the  cutter. 

Dowling.  * 
Dowling  per  dozen  gloves  up  to  4/^  inch  top  .............  $0.30        $0.30 

Dowling  per  dozen  gloves    4^  to    8  inch  top  .............  43#        -43/4 

Dowling  per  dozen  gloves    8      to  12  inch  top  .............  57>£ 

Dowling  per  dozen  gloves  12      to  16  inch  top  ............       .75 

Dowling  per  dozen  gloves  16      to  20  inch  top  ..........  90 

Imported  or  domestic  suede  ......................................  5° 

Cambretta  or  Mocha  .......................  .........................  32^ 


Where  the  cutter  dowls  the  skins  and  then  cuts  the  gloves 
therefrom,  he  shall  be  credited  for  both  the  dowling  and  cut- 
ting per  dozen  gloves  in  accordance  with  the  table-cutting 
schedule  and  not  in  any  other  way. 

Prices  for  cutting  men's  gloves  up  to  3/^  inch  top  and 


74  APPENDIX  I 

women's  gloves  up  to  4/^  inch  top  with  slit  binding:,  number- 
ing:, sizing,  punching  thumbs  and  fourchettes,  including  Eng- 
lish thumbs,  when  cut  from  the  following  stock: 

AMERICAN  TABLE  CUTTING  SCHEDULE 

As  adopted  by  the  Glove  Manufacturers  Association  of  the 
United  States  tor  the  year  1910. 

CLASS  A 

The  following  is  required  of  "A"  cutting:  "  Lined,  un- 
lined  and  silk-lined/' 

Tranks  accurately  measured  crossways,  or  lengthways  if 
faults  should  make  it  necessary,  and  spudded. 

Thumb  tranks  accurately  measured,  and  spudded,  numbered, 
sized,  and  punched  or  not,  as  required. 

CLASS  B 

Class  "  B  "  consists  of  lined  gloves  or  mittens. 

Tranks  measured  and  spudded. 

Thumbs  not  measured  but  so  worked  out  that  they  will  be 
in  due  proportion  to  the  size  of  the  glove,  sized,  and  punched 
or  not,  as  required. 

CLASS  C 

Class  "C"  calls  for  same  trank  measurements,  but  not  as 
careful  workmanship  as  class  "  B,"  numbered,  sized,  or  not, 
as  required. 

Tranks  not  spudded.  Thumbs  not  measured,  but  num- 
bered, sized,  and  punched  or  not,  as  required. 

Prices  for  cutting  men's  and  women's  gloves  and  mittens 
with  slit  binding,  numbering,  sizing,  punching  thumbs  and 
fourchettes,  including  English  thumbs,  when  cut  from  the 
following  stock: 

Class 

Kind  of  Work.                                   A.  B.        C. 

Imported  or  domestic  kid  or  suede,  or  flesher $0.40  $0.65    $0.55 

Mocha  castor  or  Mocha  reindeer 80  

Friezed  lamb 80  .75      

Mocha  castor,  or  Mocha  reindeer,  or  friezed  lamb 
or  sheep  if  for  lamb  or  fur-lined  gloves,  or  where 
two  inches  or  more  of  extra  leather  is  required...  .85  

Cravan  tan,  napa,  or  dipped  lamb  or  sheep 75  .65        .55 

Oil-dressed   deerskin   gloves,  colored   or  smoked, 

punched  or  not,  as  required i.oo  


APPENDIX  I 


75 


Deerskin  mittens,  all  kinds,  punched  or  not,  as  re- 

Suired 78  
ian-tanned  deerskin  gloves,  punched  or  not.  as 

required 95  

Little  jacks,  gloves,  punched  or  not,  as  required....     1.05  .95      

Cambretta  and  Mocha  kid  gloves 80  

Coltskin  gloves i.oo  

Calfskin  gloves 95  

Chamois 70  .65      

Women's  wide-cuff  gauntlets,  flare  included  but  not 

bound .95  .85        .75 

Women's   wide-cuff   gauntlets,   flare  included,   in- 
cluding binding i.oo  .90        .80 

Women's    gauntlets,    with    cuff   up  to  2)4    inches 

wide,  including  flare 80  .76        .60 

Automobile  gauntlets i.oo  

Automobile  gauntlets,  combination .90  

Automobile  gauntlets,  cuff  and  gores  cut  by  hand..    1.25  

Boys'  gloves,  lined  or  unlined,  not  to  exceed  nine 

inc  hes  of  leather,  not  cut  on  cadet  patterns 60  .52^     .40 

Boys'  deerskin  gloves 80  

Boys'  Mocha  gloves 75  .65      

Gloves  and  mittens  of  German  deer,  15  cents  per 

dozen  above  price  paid  for  cutting  Mocha. 

Childrens  mitts,  kid  or  suede 42^  -35        -20 

Childrens  mitts,  Mocha  or  buck 55  .40        .30 

Cutting  lamb  linings  from  skins,  long  wool 70  

Cutting  lamb  linings  from  skins,  short  wool 60  

Cutting  lamb  linings  from  plates 60  

Cutting  fur  linings  from  skins 90  

Cutting  fur  linings  from  plates 80  

Tilburys  with  fourchettes  and  part  thumbs 50  

Backs,  kid  or  suede 30  

Backs,  buckskin 35  

Palms,    kid   or   suede,    including   fourchettes   and 

thumbs 50  .45        .30 

Palms,  Mocha,  including  fourchettes  and  thumbs...      .60  

Palms,  buck,  including  fourchettes  and  thumbs 75  

Men's  or  women's  mittens,  when  not  otherwise 

provided  for,   15  cents   less   than   corresponding 

gloves. 

Extras. 

Button  stays $0.05 

Laps,  24  to  the  dozen 05 

Gores,  where  split  bindings  are  also  required 05 

Extra  wrist  binding 05 

Quirks,  if  not  in  pattern 10 

Mocha  or  reindeer  rags,  per  dozen 15 

Men's  and  women's  gloves  cut  with  more  than  %  inch  flare  on 

each  side 10 

Deerskin  rags,  per  dozen  extra 15 

Punching  and  trimming  gloves 10 

Punching  and  trimming  mittens 05 

Cutting  single  pairs,  per  pair 10 


76  APPENDIX  I 

Cutting  single  pairs  and  slitting  by  hand 25 

Punching  silk-lined  thumbs 05 

Gloves  or  mitts,  for  fur  or  lamb-lined,  where  two  cr  more  inches 
of  leather  is  required 05 

No  more  than  three  kinds  of  gloves  shall  be  required  from  one  batch 
of  leather. 

The  expense  of  mistakes  is  to  be  borne  by  those  who  make  them. 
This  applies  to  working  over  of  tranks  and  all  other  mistakes. 
(Last  two  notes  same  as  last  two  in  Table  Cutting  Schedule.) 

SCHEDULE  OF  MAXIMUM  PRICES  FOR  SEWING  FINE  GLOVES 

AS  ADOPTED  BY  THE  GLOVE  MANUFACTURERS*  ASSOCIATION  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES  FOR  THE  YEAR  IQIO 

In         Out  of 
Kind  of  work.  factory,    factory. 

Silking  (two,  three  or  four-needle  machines). 

Two-needle  completely  around  center  row $0.18  $0.18 

Single,  double  or  triple  drawn  or  plain  four-needle  ....  8 to  10  8  to  10 

Two-needle  around  center  row,  one  end  open i2>£  .12% 

Two-needle  around  center   row,  one  end  open,  ends 

picked 

Two-needle  reverse  around  center  row,  one  end  open.       .15  .15 

Three  or  four-needle  around  center  row,  one  end  open      .18  .18 

Single  needle  machine. 

Making  draw  on  single  needle  machine n  .11 

Brosser  machine. 

One  row  brosser 10  .10 

Baker  or  Union  Special  Machine. 

One  row  embroidery 10  .10 

Two  rows  embroidery 14  .14 

Three  rows  embroidery 18  .18 

Hand  Work. 

Making  full  spear  points  30  .30 

Making  drops  for  spear  points 20  .20 

Sewing  on  ordinary  slit  stay  pieces 05  .05 

Making  button  holes 12  .12 

Buttons  sewn  on  plain 07  .07 

Buttons  sewn  on  with  tape 10 

Sewing  tape  stays  for  one  fastener  up  to  2%  inches  long       .08  .08 

Sewing  tape  stays  for  two  fasteners,  up  to  4  inches  long      .10  .10 
Sewing  leather  stays  for  one  fastener,  up  to  2#  inches 

long - 10  .10 

Sewing  leather  stays  for  two  fasteners,  up  to  4  inches 

long 12  .12 

End  pulling  according  to  work  required  2  to  6       2  to  6 


APPENDIX  I  77 

Hemming,  etc. 

Putting  on  white  hem  on  overseam,  sewing  down  on 

both  sides   12  .12 

Self  hem  on  overseam  06  .06 

Sewing  slit  binding  on  lockstitck 05  .05 

Reinforcing  slits  on  lockstitch    10  .10 

Sewing  continuous  binding  around  slit   and    top  on 

overstitch  machine 09  .09 

Sewing  continuous  binding  around  hem  and  slit,  once 

around  on  lockstitch  machine  10  .10 

Sewing  down  and  trimming  slit  binding 08  .08 

Sewing  on  slit  binding  and  stitching  once  around  the 

slit  and  twice  across  the  top 18  .18 

Sewing  on  slit  binding  and  stitching  twice  around  the 
slit  and  twice  across  the  top  known  as  the  "  Horse- 
shoe'' hem 20  .20 

Sewing  on  slit  binding  and  stitching  once  around  slit 
and  twice  across  the  top,  where  slit  binding  is 
trimmed  by  hemmer  to  leave  part  of  slit  binding  to 

serve  as  button  piece 20  .20 

Sewing  in  slit  binding,  stitching  once  around  slit  and 
twice  across  top  and  fastening  by  a  single  row  of 
stitching,  the  button  piece  part  of  the  binding  thus 

forming  the  ordinary  box  hem  22  .22 

Same  as  next  preceding  item  when  operator  is  required 

to  mark  pattern  for  box  25  .25 

Rubbering  with  six  rows  and  in  center  gore  20  .20 

Rubbering  with  six  rows  with  side  gore  15  .15 

Rubbering  with  six  rows  if  side  gore  is  already  in 10  .10 

Double  rubbering  on  extra  long  top  and  setting  in  gore      .22  .22 

Furring  straight  around 15  .15 

Furring  spring  top 40  .40 

Making  fleece  or  plush  glove  lining .10  .10 

Making  fleece  or  plush  mitten  lining 08  .08 

Sewing. 
Inseam. 

Making  lined  or  silk-lined  gloves,  with  or  without 
quirks,  without  quirks,  slit  bindings  tacked  but  not 

sewn  on,  fourchettes  trimmed  70  .60 

If  made  mock  pique,  side  seam  stitching  on  palm  .85  .75 

If  made  mock  pique,  side  seam  stitching  on  back 90  .80 

Closing  glove  where  fitting  up  has  been  done  by  an 

operator  other  than  the  closer  20  .20 

Making  hem-top  mittens  complete  45  .45 

Making  fur-top  mittens  complete 35  .35 

Making  fleece-lined  gloves  complete i.oo          i.oo 

If  made  without  laps  or  quirks  5  cents  less  for  each. 

Overseam. 
Men's  or  women's  gloves  with  quirks,  not  hemmed, 

but  with  binding  sewn  on 85  .75 

Men's  or  women's  gloves,  without  quirks,  but  with 

bindings  sewn  on  75  .65 


78  APPENDIX  I 

Men's  or  women's  overseam  mittens 30  .30 

Misses'  or  children's  overseam  mittens 25  .25 

Gloves  made  without  bindings  or  welts,  deduct  5  cents 
from  schedule  price  for  making  such  gloves. 

Pique. 
Fitting  up  for  pique  or  inseam,  slit  welts  sewn  on, 

fourchettes  trimmed  and  ends  tied 55  .50 

Same  without  slit  welts 50  .45 

Closing  gloves  on  pique 85  .78 

Making  pique  mittens..  38  .36 

Fitting  up  pique  mittens ro  .10 

Closing  pique  thumbs 10  .10 

Triple  Stitch. 

Making  gloves  on  triple-stitch  machine,  with  quirks 
but  not  hemmed,  all  ends  tied i  .40 

Prixseam. 

Making  prixseam  with  quirks,  but  not  hemmed,  all 
ends  tied 1.30          1.20 

Gauge  Outseam. 
When  gauge  is  used. 

Making  men's  or  women's  all  outseam,  with  or  with- 
out quirks,  all  ends  tied 1. 10          i. oo 

Making  men's  or  women's  half  outseam,  with  or  with- 
out quirks,  all  ends  tied.. ....' 85  .80 

Making  men's  or  women's  outseam  mittens.. 30  .30 

Above  with  thumbs  sewn  in  flat  10  cents  extra. 

Trimmer  Outseam. 

Making  full  outseam  with  quirks,  slit  binding  tacked.       .90  .80 

Making  half  outseam  with  quirks,  slit  binding  tacked.       .75  .65 

Making  outseam  mittens,  round  thumb     30  .30 

Making  outseam  mittens,  English  thumb  .    30  .30 

Above  with  thumbs  sewn  in  flat  in  cents  extra. 

The  clause  in  the  schedule  "  all  ends  tied  "  refers  to  all  ends 
except  quirk  ends,  and  quirk  ends  should  be  fastened  by  back- 
stitching  at  least  four  stitches. 

Mousquetaires  and  Barritz. 

Musoquetaircs  made  overstitch,  slit  sewed  on  : 

6-8  inches   .80 

10    inches 85 

12    inches i.oo 

16    inches i.io 

20    inches 1.20 

Barritz  made  overseam,  no  slit  bindings  : 

6-8  inches 75 

10    inches 80 

12    inches   95 

16    inches 1.05 

20    inches 1.15 


APPENDIX  I 

Mousquetaire  made  gauge  (when  gauge  is  used)  with- 
out slit  bindings  : 


79 


6  inches. 

8  inches. 
10  inches. 
12  inches. 
16  inches. 


,10 

IS 

.20 
•25 
.40 


Mousquetaires  made  pique — Fitting  : 
Fitting  up— 

6  inches 55 

8-12  inches 60 

Above  12  inches 65 

Closing— 

6  inches 85 

8  inches 90 

10  inches..  95 


12  inches. 
14  inches. 
16  inches. 
18  inches. 
20  inches. 


,00 
05 
,10 


.20 


Silking  monsquetaires,  drawn  back  : 

Above  8  inches 12 

Two  draw 12 

Stitching  around 15 

FACTORY  HOURS 
Making  Department 

Factories  shall  be  open  from  7  to  12  o'clock  in  the  forenoon 
and  from  I  to  6  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  Saturdays  excepted, 
when  the  closing1  hour  shall  be  5  o'clock,  excepting:  during  the 
months  of  June,  July  and  August,  when  the  closing  hour  shall 
be  12  o'clock  noon. 

Piece  workers  in  the  making  department  shall  work  not  less 
than  seven  hours  each  working  day,  from  8  a.  m.  to  n  a.  m.; 
i  p.  m.  to  3  p.  m.,  except  on  Saturdays  during  June,  July  and 
August,  when  they  shall  work  four  hours,  from  8  a.  m.  to 
12  m. 


APPENDIX    II 


PROPOSED  SCHEDULE* 

Submitted  to  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  by  the  Glove 
Manufacturers'  Association  of  the  United  States. 


Paragraph  439. 


Act  of  1897. 


Gloves : 

Gloves,  made  wholly  or  in 
part  of  leather  whether  wholly 
or  partly  manufactured,  shall 
pay  duty  at  the  following- 
rates  : 

The  lengths  stated  in  each 
case  being  the  extreme  length 
when  stretched  to  their  full 
extent,  namely  : 


Paragraph  as    amended  or 
reconstructed. 
Gloves : 

Gloves,  made  wholly  or  in 
part  of  leather  whether  wholly 
or  partly  manufactured,  shall 
pay  duty  at  the  following 
rates,  namely  : 

On  gloves  not  exceeding 
eleven  inches  in  length,  four 
dollars  per  dozen  pairs  ; 

On  gloves  exceeding  eleven 
inches  in  length,  an  additional 
duty  of  fifty  cents  per  dozen 
pairs  for  each  inch  or  major 
portion  of  an  inch  in  excess 
of  said  eleven  inches,  the 
length  in  each  case  being  the 
extreme  length  when  stretched 
to  its  full  extent. 


80 


Tariff  Hearings,  Nov.  28,  1908. 


APPENDIX  II  8l 

Paragraph  440. 

Act  of  1897.  Paragraph  as  amended  or 

reconstructed. 

Women's  or  children's 
"glace"  finish,  Schmaschen 
(of  sheep  origin),  not  over 
fourteen  inches  in  length,  one 
dollar  and  seventy-five  cents 
per  dozen  pairs  ; 

Over  fourteen  inches  and 
not  over  seventeen  inches  in 
length,  two  dollars  and 
twenty-five  cents  per  dozen 
pairs  ; 

Over  seventeen  inches  in 
length,  two  dollars  and 
seventy-five  cents  per  dozen 
pairs  ; 

Men's  "  glace "  finish, 
Schmaschen  (sheep),  three 
dollars  per  dozen  pairs. 

Paragraph  441. 

Act  of  1897.  Paragraph  as  amended  or 

reconstructed. 

Women's  or  children's 
"  glace  "  finish,  lamb  or  sheep, 
not  over  fourteen  inches  in 
length,  two  dollars  and  fifty 
cents  per  dozen  pairs  ; 

Over  fourteen  and  not  over 
seventeen  inches  in  length, 
three  dollars  and  fifty  cents 
per  dozen  pairs ; 

Over  seventeen  inches  in 
length,  four  dollars  and  fifty 
cents  per  dozen  pairs ; 

Men's  "glace"  finish,  lamb 
or  sheep,  four  dollars  per 
dozen  pairs. 


82  APPENDIX  II 

Paragraph  442. 

Act  of  1897.  Paragraph  as   amended  or 

reconstructed. 

Women's  or  children's 
"glace"  finish,  goat,  kid  or 
other  leather  than  of  sheep 
origin,  not  over  fourteen 
inches  in  length,  three  dollars 
per  dozen  pairs ; 

Over  fourteen  and  not  over 
seventeen  inches  in  length, 
three  dollars  and  seventy-five 
cents  per  dozen  pairs  ; 

Over  seventeen  inches  in 
length,  four  dollars  and 
seventy-five  cents  per  dozen 
pairs ; 

Men's  "glace"  finish,  kid, 
goat,  or  other  leather  than  of 
sheep  origin,  four  dollars  per 
dozen  pairs. 

Paragraph  443. 

Act  of  1897.  Paragraph  as  amended  or 

reconstructed. 

Women's  or  children's,  of 
sheep  origin,  with  exterior 
grain  surface  removed,  by 
whatever  name  known,  not 
over  seventeen  inches  in 
length,  two  dollars  and  fifty 
cents  per  dozen  pairs  ; 

Over  seventeen  inches  in 
length,  three  dollars  and  fifty 
cents  per  dozen  pairs  ; 

Men's,  of  sheep  origin, 
with  exterior  surface  removed, 
by  whatever  name  known, 
four  dollars  per  dozen  pairs. 


APPENDIX  II  83 

Paragraph  444. 

Act  of  1897.  Paragraph  as  amended  or 

reconstructed. 

Women's  or  children's,  kid, 
goat,  or  other  leather  than  of 
sheep  origin,  with  exterior 
grain  surface  removed,  by 
whatever  name  known,  not 
over  fourteen  inches  in  length, 
three  dollars  per  dozen  pairs  ; 

Over  fourteen  inches  and 
not  over  seventeen  inches  in 
length,  three  dollars  and 
seventy-five  cents  per  dozen 
pairs ; 

Over  seventeen  inches  in 
length,  four  dollars  and 
seventy-five  cents  per  dozen 
pairs  ; 

Men's  goat,  kid,  or  other 
leather  than  of  sheep  origin, 
with  exterior  grain  surface 
removed,  by  whatever  name 
known,  four  dollars  per  dozen 
pairs. 

Paragraph  445. 
Act  of  1897.  Paragraph  as  amended  or 

reconstructed. 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing  In  addition  to  the  foregoing 
rates  there  shall  be  paid  the  rates  there  shall  be  paid  the 
following  cumulative  duties  :  following  cumulative  duties  : 
On  all  leather  gloves,  when  On  all  gloves,  wholly  or 
lined,  one  dollar  per  dozen  in  part  of  leather,  when  lined 
pairs ;  with  cotton,  woolen  or  silk 

fabrics,  one  dollar  per  dozen 
pairs ; 

When  lined  with  skin  or 
fur,  five  dollars  per  dozen 
pairs ; 

On  all  pique  or  prixseam  On  all  pique  or  prixseam 
gloves,  forty  cents  per  dozen  gloves,  forty  cents  per  dozen 
pairs  ;  pairs ; 

On  all  hand-sewn  gloves, 
one  dollar  per  dozen  pairs  ; 


84 


APPENDIX  II 


On  all  gloves,  stitched  or 
embroidered,  with  more  than 
three  single  strands  or  cords, 
forty  cents  per  dozen  pairs. 


On  all  gloves  having  crows' 
feet  stitched,  sewn  or  silked 
on  the  backs  thereof,  or  hav- 
ing stitched,  sewn,  embroid- 
ered or  silked  on  the  backs 
thereof  points,  each  point  con- 
sisting of  more  than  a  single 
row  of  stitching,  sewing,  em- 
broidery, or  silking,  whether 
the  same  be  continuous  or 
otherwise,  forty  cents  per 
dozen  pairs ; 

On  all  gloves  having  more 
than  a  single  line  of  stitching, 
sewing,  embroidery  or  silk- 
ing, on  the  cuffs  or  wrists 
thereof,  twenty-five  cents  per 
dozen  pairs. 


Paragraph  446. 


Act  of  1897. 


Glove  tranks,  with  or  with- 
out the  usual  accompanying 
pieces,  shall  pay  seventy-five 
per  centum  of  the  duty  pro- 
vided for  the  gloves  in  the 
fabrication  of  which  they  are 
suitable. 


Paragraph  as  amended  or 
reconstructed. 

Glove  tranks,  with  or  with- 
out the  usual  accompanying 
pieces,  shall  pay  seventy-five 
per  centum  of  the  duty  pro- 
vided for  the  gloves  in  the 
fabrication  of  which  they  are 
suitable. 


APPENDIX  III 
ARGUMENT  FOR  PROPOSED  SCHEDULE' 

"The  Glove  Manufacturers'  Association  of  the  United 
States  desires  to  call  your  attention  to  the  trade  developments 
in  connection  with  the  tariff  schedule  on  gloves  contained  in 
paragraphs  439  to  446,  both  inclusive,  of  the  Dingley  Act. 
We  are  confident  that  your  Committee  will  discern  that  no  in- 
dustry in  the  United  States  has  made,  or  can  make,  a  more 
satisfactory  showing  under  protection  than  the  glove  industry, 
to  demonstrate  which  we  review  the  history  of  this  industry. 

"  Before  the  McKinley  Act  of  1890  there  was  no  glove  in- 
dustry in  the  United  States  competing  in  our  markets  with  the 
foreign-made  gloves.  There  has  been,  during1  the  previous 
fifty  years,  developed  the  manufacture  of  gloves  for  working- 
men,  but  such  gloves  were  made  in  this  country  only,  as  we 
are  the  only  people  in  the  world  paying  a  sufficiently  high 
rate  of  wages  to  enable  the  working  man  to  indulge  in  the 
luxury  of  protecting1  his  hands  while  at  work.  The  working- 
men's  gloves  we  manufacture  are  considered  curiosities  in 
other  parts  of  the  world,  where  no  such  articles  are  made  or 
used,  and  to-day  the  manufacture  of  such  workingmen's  gloves 
still  remains  the  largest  part  of  the  glove  industry,  the  census 
of  1905  showing  that  65.3  per  cent,  of  American  production 
was  of  the  workingmen's  gloves. 

"  Prior  to  1890  the  tariff  on  gloves  was  50  per  cent,  ad  val- 
orem. It  was  clearly  demonstrated  that  under  an  ad  valorem 
tariff  no  legitimate  trade  could  be  developed  or  continued  here 
because  of  undervaluations,  the  business  going  into  the  hands 
of  agents  of  foreign  manufacturers,  against  whom  the  Ameri- 
can importer  could  not  successfully  compete.  The  American 
dealer  confined  his  purchases  practically  to  the  agents  of  im- 
porters, and  the  American  manufacturers  found  no  opportunity 
to  compete  with  the  enormous  importation  of  men's  and 
women's  gloves.  The  ad  valorem  rate  of  50  per  cent,  gave  no 

'Tariff  Hearings  before  Ways  and  Means  Committee,  November  28, 
1008. 

85 


86  APPENDIX  HI 

consideration  to  the  theory  of  protection,  but  simply  repre- 
sented a  tariff  for  revenue,  and  there  was  no  glove  industry  in 
the  United  States  making:  fine  gloves  under  that  rate. 

"  In  the  consideration  of  the  McKinley  bill  the  question  of 
giving"  protection,  so  as  to  build  up  an  American  industry,  was 
thoroughly  investigated,  with  the  conclusion  that  such  oppor- 
tunity was  given  on  men's  gloves,  while  leaving  the  women's 
gloves  on  a  purely  revenue  basis.  It  was  believed  that  the 
highly  skilled  labor  necessary  for  the  manufacture  of  women's 
gloves  could  not  be  found  in  the  United  States. 

In  the  fiscal  year  1890  there  were  imported  127,000  dozen 
pairs  of  men's  gloves,  paying  a  revenue  of  $229,222.50.  The 
McKinley  bill  imposed,  in  addition  to  the  previous  50  per 
cent,  ad  valorem  rate,  one  dollar  per  dozen  extra  on  men's 
gloves.  From  the  date  of  its  enactment,  the  American  fine- 
glove  industry  had  its  start,  until  to-day  it  has  developed  into 
an  industry  giving  employment  to  twenty  thousand  working 
mem  scattered  over  the  United  States  in  twenty-seven  states, 
but  mainly  centered  in  Fulton  County,  in  the  State  of  New 
York. 

When,  in  the  course  of  events,  the  consideration  of  a  revised 
tariff,  with  the  avowed  purpose  of  enacting  a  tariff  for  revenue 
only,  took  place  in  1893  under  the  chairmanship,  in  this  com- 
mittee, of  Mr.  Wilson,  the  business  of  manufacturing  men's 
gloves  had  already  made  its  start.  The  importation  of 
men's  gloves  during  the  fiscal  year  1893  amounted  to  103,808 
dozen  pairs,  paying  in  duties  $448,943.64,  which  was  a  reduc- 
tion of  24,000  dozens  under  the  importations  of  1890.  The 
Democratic  revision  of  the  tariff  showed  clearly  that  proper 
appreciation  had  been  given  to  the  need  and  justice  of  a  pro- 
tective tariff  on  men's  gloves,  and  further,  that  a  schedule  to 
be  just,  and  fairly  complied  with  under  the  law,  could  not  be 
based  on  ad  valorem  rates. 

The  Wilson  bill  of  1893,  for  the  first  time,  placed  exclusively 
specific  duties  on  gloves,  and  moreover,  after  the  fullest  and 
most  careful  study  of  the  problem,  gave  increased  rates  of  duty 
on  men's  gloves,  while  lowering  the  duty  on  women's  gloves, 
in  specific  form  to  about  one-half  the  rates  which  maintained 
under  the  McKinley  bill.  At  this  point  attention  should  be 
directed  to  the  fact  that  the  Wilson  bill  duties  on  women's 
gloves,  which  were  only  about  one-half  of  the  rates  of  duty  im- 
posed under  the  McKinley  Act,  did  not  increase  the  importa- 
tion of  women's  gloves,  nor  augment  the  government's  reve- 
nues, but  had  quite  the  contrary  effect. 


APPENDIX  III  87 

In  1893,  under  the  McKinley  Act,  there  were  imported 
1,314,862  dozen  pairs,  paying-  a  revenue  of  $3,252,653,  while 
in  1896,  under  the  Wilson  Act,  with  its  reduction  of  duties  on 
women's  and  children's  gloves,  only  1,176,776  dozens  of  these 
gloves  were  imported,  paying  duties  of  $2,075,548.  These  fig- 
ures show  that  the  lower  Wilson  bill  rates  did  not  increase  the 
importation  of  this  article  of  semi-luxury,  but  on  the  contrary 
fewer  women's  gloves  were  imported  under  these  lower  rates 
and  the  government  revenue  decreased  nearly  a  million  and  a 
quarter  of  dollars. 

When  the  Dingley  Act  of  1897  was  under  consideration, 
these  facts  were  clearly  presented  and  a  demand  was  made  for 
the  continuance  of  the  duties  on  men's  gloves,  which  was  agreed 
to.  So  the  rates  of  the  Dingley  bill,  on  men's  gloves,  were 
exactly  those  of  the  Wilson  bill,  with  the  addition  of  the  extra 
cumulative  provisions  on  the  more  elaborately  and  expen- 
sively sewn  and  embroidered  gloves.  We  were  not  able,  at 
that  time,  to  persuade  Congress  to  place  a  compensatory  pro- 
tective duty  on  women's  gloves  such  as  had  been  given  on 
men's  gloves ;  and,  although  the  duties  on  women's  gloves 
were  increased  to  some  extent  under  the  Dingley  bill,  they  still 
remained  purely  revenue  duties,  and  inadequate  to  provide 
protection  to  our  manufacturers." 


APPENDIX  IV 


State. 

tn 

V 

O 

M  «  oo  oo  Number  of 
£  £  2?  $  establishments. 

i 

'2. 

C3 

0 

$10,705,599 
9,004,427 
6,348,407 
6,219.647 

Salaried  offi- 
cials, clerks,                Total, 
etc. 

1 
8 

640 
637 

296 

328 

•1 

rt 
"rt 

ft 

$584,573 
544,17° 
262,873 

294*574 

|| 

^ 

1 

United  States  -j 
New  York   ....      -I 

1905 
1900 

1905 
1900 

10,645 
14,180 

#3,840,253 
4,151,126 

2,131.053 
2,723,702 

— Census  of  Manufactures,  1905,  Bulletin  72. 


APPENDIX  V 
VALUE  OF  GLOVES,  OF  KID  OR  OTHER  LEATHER,  IMPORTED  :  1900  TO  1905 l 


Year. 

Value. 

1 

Year. 

l 

Value. 

f  QOC 

&d  727  dSo 

Sc,^66,'?8i 

i  90  i     •       ......... 

.  .        c  t;^d  2^0 

IOO3 

5»WV3»OJ/ 
C  O2O  278 

IOOO 

6  IO7.76C 

— Census  of  Manufactures,  1905,  Bulletin  72. 

1  Bureau  of  Statistics,  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor,  Commerce  and 
Navigation  of  the  United  States. 


APPENDIX  VI 


89 


5-S.S 

-^lo- 


85: 


in      « 


to     oo 

?,  s 

N          N 


2  J 


& 


I- 


\o  vo      «»  H  «  «9vo  *T-  •*  "P^  *J  °o  o< 
t^.d      rf  * w «o «o «« ^. rf  ovo  i-" vd 

M  in      m  «  t-x  vn  •«-  moo  oo  t^  t^  moo 


•*  *I  o 

I  -s 
111? 

;      I  S  "I 

•   I  |  4 

i  J  -a  Si 

I    .2  =  -o 

1  <  1 

!    S 

I 


*        "o 


I  ££5 !"•:-•£££=: 8  I 


^  1  1 


__w- 

M  _?% 


ro  vO                            O  10 

10  t^                           00  ON 

**"  ^*^-^^-^>-v^-*.  "^  ^T 

IO       *"  fO 


— *•-    "g 

,    to        t; 


;  °-    rt    s 

!l  I  1 

*   •§    s 


2  £§ 


^"rt.SJ  g.JJ  i_5fe^^5^"«5*°  *»« 

i.S  g  g  S   ofll«  <f<r*>>'f'{*J**'    0«   3   S 
_^5    r,  **  1/5    (/;  -^    r: 


llflJ 

illli 

Ti   *^      *» 


Hnftllll 


=   S^S  C-rt^,P 

Zuc/5     w>H 


APPENDIX  VII 
PRODUCTS,  BY  KIND,  QUANTITY  AND  VALUE:  1905  AND  1900 


1905. 

1900. 

It.  I  7   fAQ   78  C 

t  T  A  «72I   27A 

Gloves,  mittens,  and  gauntlets: 
Total  dozen  pairs*  • 

f*1  />/4wij°;) 

•7  770  1.4.6 

2  89  ^  66  1 

Si  7  I  22  772 

&  1  6  o  "?o  1  68 

Men's  — 
Lined— 

1  317  083 

OC2  82O 

Value  

56.  3  3  3.081 

*4.,QCQ.QO2 

Unlined  — 

i  CQ8  112 

I  ^14  5O7 

58  182.680 

§7  /i  c8  7c6 

Women's  — 
Lined— 
Dozen  pairs  ............ 

70688 

78  781 

Value    

&1Q&32C 

«C78    762 

Unlined  — 

I  74,  IO2 

221  O?Q 

Value  

Si,  420,  807 

5l.  772,  74.6 

Gauntlets  — 
Dozen  pairs  .....    ...... 

(1) 

24  OO4. 

Value   

(' 

Si  ?o.6ij2 

Children's— 
Lined— 

161  673 

1  88  366 

Value    

1U1,U/  J 

te-12  Cl8 

$7OQ  CCA 

Unlined  — 

fjj*t5ltj 
•50.268 

1  16,14.2 

Value  

*I  CC.-JC2 

J44Q.CQ6 

All  other  products,  including  custom  work  and 

C6t  7611 

5682  066 

'  Not  reported  separately. 


APPENDIX  VIII 

DRESS  AND  WORKING  GLOVES,  MITTENS  AND  GAUNTLETS,  BY  QUANTITY,  WITH 
PER  CENT.  EACH  KIND  is  or  TOTAL:  1905 


Aggregate. 

Men's. 

Women's. 

Children's. 

C    i- 

It 

£Z^ 

ii 

r 

g.S 

&*• 

-"3 

r 

It 

Q 

il 

u  •*•* 

r 

§S2 
gl 

Q 

i? 

3.370,146 

977,{594 
43  ',897 

545»697 

2,392,552 
1,126,547 
1,266,005 

1  00.0 

29.0 

71.0 

,.. 

2,915.415 

7  >  5,  949 
3M,i5° 
401,799 

2,199,466 
1,002,933 
1,196,533 

100.0 

24.6 

75-4 

253,790 

183,333 
49,364 
133,969 

70,457 
30,324 
40,133 

1  00.0 

72.2 

27.8 

200,941 

78,312 
68,383 
9,929 

122,629 
93,290 
29,339 

1  00.0 

39.0 

Dress  : 
Xotal  

Lined  .... 
Unlined  .  • 
Working  : 

61.0 

Lined  .... 
Unlined  .. 

—Census  of  Mtnufactures,  1905,  Bulletin  72. 

Qi 


APPENDIX  IX 

RATES  OF  DUTY 
Schedules  1890,  1894,  1897  and  1909 


Men's. 

1890. 
McKinley. 

1894. 
Wilson. 

1897. 

Dingley. 

1909. 

Payne- 
Aldrich. 

co/fc  and  $i  oo 

&1  OO 

*-?  oo 

*-?  oo 

50  %  and    i.oo 

4.  OO 

4..OO 

4.OO 

Kid  

50%  and    i.oo 

•  d  OO 

4..OO 

4..OO 

co  %>  and    I  oo 

4  OO 

4  oo 

A  no 

Suede  kid  

co  %  and    i  .00 

**** 

A  OO 

A   OO 

A  OO 

Women's. 
Schmaschen  : 

SI.7C 

I  OO 

I.7C 

I.2C  l 

Under  17  

v    '& 

CQ% 

I   CO 

2  2C 

2  2C 

jv/c 

CO% 

l'J^ 
2  OO 

*^*3 

2.7C 

*«*3 
2.7  c 

Lamb: 

$2.2C 

I  7C 

**/D 
2.  CO 

2.CO 

*»•«•*:> 

CO% 

2.7C 

2.  CO 

0.  en 

Over    

CO% 

7.7C 

A.  CO 

4.  co 

Kid: 

13-25 

2.2C 

7.OO 

^.OO 

Under  17...    ........... 

J   2 

CO% 

7  CO 

•5.7C 

3.7C 

•*  IS 

CQ% 

4  OO 

4..7C 

4..7C 

Suede,  etc.,  sheep  : 

Jv  /° 

s®% 

I.7C 

2.  CO 

2.CO 

Under  17  .. 

CO  tfn 

2  7C 

•?  CQ 

2  CO 

Over        

5     2? 

co% 

*"IJ 

3-5° 

•*ov 

Suede,  etc.,  kid  : 

ri* 

CQ% 

2.2C 

I 
roo 

•^.oo 

Under  17*  •  • 

y*  /o 
co% 

•7.OO 

•J.7C, 

•1.7  c 

*  2 

CQ% 

4..OO 

4.7C 

4.7  c 

Extra  Cumulative  Men's 
and  Women's. 

$1  OO 

I.OO 

I.OO 

I.OO 

Pique  or  prixseam  

.50 

CO 

1 

40 

•dO 

.40 

.40 

•!>w 

\ 

1  Reduction. 


APPENDIX  X 
IMPORTATIONS  OF  GLOVES  (MEN'S  AND  WOMEN'S  AND  CHILDREN'S) 


Total  Gloves. 


Year  ending  June  30,  1907 , 
Year  ending  June  30,  1908. 
Year  ending  June  30,  1909 
Year  ending  June  30,  1910, 
Year  ending  June  30,  1911 . 


Quantities, 
dozen  pairs. 

Values. 

Duties. 

1,186,569.68 
902,541.20 
1,159,221,78 
1,309.107.79 
1,196,871.12 

$10,261,945.65 
7,760,645.26 
7,210,554.81 
7.755.239.26 
7.775.436.61 

^4,243,363.57 
3,184,937.83 
3,617,425.67 
3,840,492.94 
3.554.754.83 

— Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor,  Bureau  of  Statistics. 

93 


APPENDIX  XI 
LEATHER  GLOVES' 

The  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Altenburg  reports  as  follows 
regarding-  pamphlet  20,  page  2515  : 

Mr.  Littauer  has  made  statements  regarding  the  conditions 
of  production  in  Germany,  which  are  to  a  great  extent  based 
on  erroneous  suppositions.  It  would  take  too  long  to  ex- 
amine into  all  of  the  details  of  Littauer's  statements,  and  only 
a  few  specially  important  points  will  be  taken  up  here. 

Littauer  alleges  that  the  production  of  a  dozen  pairs  of 
leather  gloves,  exclusive  of  the  leather,  costs  $2.14  (8.98 
marks)  in  Germany.  This,  however,  is  not  in  accordance 
with  facts,  for  even  though  this  price  may  be  paid  in  certain 
regions,  it  cannot  be  taken  as  the  average  rate.  Moreover, 
the  prices  for  cutting  out,  as  cited  by  him,  are  also  incorrect. 
The  minimum  wages  for  cutting  out  gloves  were  cited  at  2.30 
to  2.80  marks,  whereas,  for  instance,  at  Munich  the  minimum 
wages  are  3.36  marks  per  dozen  and  at  Altenburg  3.10  marks. 
Littauer  further  states  that  the  leather  for  a  dozen  pairs  of 
gloves  costs  $7  in  America,  including  duty,  a  price  which  is 
by  no  means  correct,  as  the  cost  is  considerably  lower. 

On  page  2526  of  the  report,  Littauer  speaks  of  the  wages 
for  sewing,  mentioning  24  to  30  cents  a  dozen  (i  to  1.30 
marks)  as  the  wages  for  ordinary  sewing  in  Germany,  as 
against  75  cents  a  dozen  in  America,  and  50  to  60  cents  a  dozen 
(2.30  to  2. 55  marks)  for  whipped  seam  in  Germany,  as  against 
$1.40  per  dozen  in  America.  The  lowest  wages  for  ordinary 
sewing  in  Germany  amount,  however,  to  1.55  to  2.70  marks, 
and  for  whipped  seem  to  3. 30  to  4.20  marks.  Littauer  further 
states  that  a  large  number  of  German  manufacturers  send 
their  gloves  to  Belgium  to  be  sewed,  because,  as  he  supposes, 
the  sewing  wages  are  cheaper  there.  This  statement  is  also 
wrong,  for  seam  sewing  is  25  pfennigs  dearer  in  Belgium  than 
in  Germany.  The  real  reason  why  the  German  manufacturers 
have  their  sewing  done  in  Belgium  is  because  a  finer  and 

Senate  Document  68,  Pt.  2,  6ist  Congress  ist  Session. 
94 


APPENDIX  XI  95 

better  seam  is  made  in  that  country  than  in  Germany.  Lit- 
tauer's  statement  regarding:  the  dyers'  wages  in  Germany  are 
as  incorrect  as  those  regarding-  the  wages  paid  for  cutting  out 
and  sewing  seams. 

The  hearings  before  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 
which  also  related  to  the  duties  on  leather  gloves,  show  that 
erroneous  ideas  are  entertained  by  American  manufacturers 
regarding  the  cost  of  manufacture  of  gloves.  Thus  the  expert, 
Mr.  Littauer,  who  was  examined  on  this  matter,  stated  that 
the  production  of  a  dozen  leather  gloves  in  Germany  cost 
$2.14,  or  9  marks.  However,  even  if  ihis  price  (as  we  doubt) 
should  be  paid  in  individual  districts,  it  cannot  be  taken  as 
the  average  rate,  but  must  be  regarded  as  an  exception,  for 
in  reality  the  cost  of  production  of  fine  gloves  in  Germany 
comes  to  13  or  16  marks.  In  view  of  this  price,  the  present 
tariff  seems  amply  sufficient  to  offset  the  difference  in  the  cost 
of  production  in  America  and  Germany.  The  prices  for  cut- 
ting are  likewise  quite  wrongly  given  by  the  incorrectly 
informed  importers.  Thus,  2.30  to  2.80  marks  are  given  as 
as  the  minimum  wages  for  cutting,  whereas,  for  instance,  in 
Munich,  the  minimum  wages  per  dozen  are  3.36  marks. 
Equally  incorrect  are  the  statements  with  regard  to  dyeing. 
The  assertion  of  Mr.  Littauer  that  the  leather  for  a  dozen 
gloves  costs  $7  is  also  erroneous,  the  price  being  much  less  on 
an  average.  Furthermore,  the  statements  concerning  the 
wages  paid  for  sewing  seams  (p.  2526  of  the  report)  are  also 
incorrect.  Mr.  Littauer  mentions  24  to  30  cents  (i  to  1.30 
marks)  as  the  wages  for  ordinary  seams,  and  54  to  60  cents 
(2.30  to  2.55  marks)  as  the  rate  paid  for  whipped  seams.  It 
is  unlikely  that  such  wages  are  paid  anywhere  in  Germany,  as 
the  lowest  wages  in  Germany  for  ordinary  seams  are  1.55  to 
2.70  marks,  and  the  rate  paid  for  whipped  seams  3.30  to  4.20 
marks.  The  reason  why  the  German  manufacturers  send 
their  gloves  to  Belgium  to  be  sewed  is  by  no  means  because 
the  prices  for  sewing  seams  are  cheaper  there  than  in  Germany, 
for  as  a  matter  of  fact  Belgium  seams  cost  20  to  25  pfennigs 
per  dozen  more  than  in  Germany.  Mr.  Littauer  therefore 
errs  in  this  regard  also. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


In  the  preparation  of  this  monograph  the  following  works  have  been 
read  or  consulted.  Quotations  from  each  are  credited  in  the  proper 
place. 

Hull,  William.  The  History  of  the  Glove  Trade  with  the  Customs 
Connected  with  the  Gloves.  London,  1834. 

Beck,  S.  W.  Gloves ,  their  Annals  and  Associations.  London, 
1883. 

Cote,  Leon.  L'industrie  gantiere  et  Vouvrier  gantier  a  Grenoble. 
Preface  de  Jean  Jaures.  Paris,  1903. 

Pfliiger,  Rudolph.  Die  lederhandschuhindustrie  Deutschlands ,  ihre 
Entwicklung  und  ihre  Lage.  Heidelberg,  1908. 

Belgium  Section  de  la  Statistique.  Les  salaire  dans  V  Industrie  gan- 
toise.  Brussels,  1901. 

U.  S.  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor.  Census  of  1905,  Bulle- 
tin 72. 

Census  of  1900,  Part  IIT,  Manufactures. 

Glover1  s  Review.  A  Monthly  Trade  Journal  published  at  Glovers- 
ville. 

New  York  State  Department  of  Labor.     Report  of  Bureau  of  Labor 
Statistics,  1900,  Part  I,  Industrial  Training. 
96 


VITA 

THE  writer  of  this  monograph,  Daniel  Walter  Red- 
mond, was  born  at  Oxford,  N.  Y.,  in  1876.  He  received 
his  elementary  training  in  the  public  schools  of  New 
York  state  and  at  the  High  School  at  Greene,  N.  Y. 
His  college  work  was  done  at  Hamilton  College  from 
which  he  received  the  degree  of  Ph.  B.  in  1901. 

In  1901-1904  he  taught  in  the  High  School  at  Clinton, 
N.  Y.  In  1904-5  he  taught  in  Jenner's  Preparatory 
School  at  Syracuse,  N.  Y.  From  1905-12  he  has  been 
a  Special  Instructor  in  the  department  of  Public  Speak- 
ing at  the  College  of  the  City  of  New  York. 

In  economics  and  allied  subjects  the  author  has  studied 
under  Professor  Delos  DeWolf  Smyth  at  Hamilton 
College  and  under  Professors  E.  R.  A.  Seligman,  H.  R. 
Seager,  J.  B.  Clark,  H.  L.  Moore,  F.  H.  Giddings,  A. 
A.  Tenney,  Frank  J.  Goodnow  and  T.  R.  Powell  at 
Columbia  University. 

97 


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